25 years after Zlatan Ibrahimovic left FK Malmö to sign for Ajax in a €7.8m deal, his son, Maximilian, has followed the same route, but from AC Milan.
The 19-year-old has signed a loan deal with De Godenzonen until the end of the season. As per ESPN, Ajax have the option to sign him permanently at the end of the season, but for the time being, the winger will rotationally feature for the club’s under-23 side and the senior team.
Maximillian Ibrahimovic joined AC Milan’s academy from Hammarby IF’s youth academy in 2022 and has grown in leaps and bounds since then. This season, he played for the club’s futuro team in the Serie D, scoring five goals and providing four assists in 16 games.
Ajax’s director of football, Marijn Beuker, was delighted to welcome the Swede.
“We are very pleased with the arrival of Maximilian,” the 41-year-old said in quotes revealed by Ajax’s official website.
“He is a talented forward with a good sense of positioning in and around the penalty area, and he has strong goal-oriented finishing. He is skilful with his dribbling and, above all, has a great winner’s mentality and training attitude.
“He will initially mainly get his playing minutes with Ajax U23 and will regularly move between Ajax U23 and the first team during the season, so that he can get used to the higher level and the intensity of Ajax 1. Maximilian is a player with a lot of potential, and we hope that in time he can become a permanent part of Ajax 1’s attack.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic became a European name in his time at Ajax, scoring 48 goals and providing 17 assists in 110 games at the Johan Cruyff Arena. However, his son is keen on making a name for himself, rather than in the shadows of his highly-esteemed father.
“I am my own person and player, and I want to write my own story. I feel good. I’m excited,” Ibrahimović junior told Ajax Media.
“Nice that my father also played for Ajax. I am happy that I have the opportunity to continue developing myself here as well.
“I am here to do my own thing. And I am really looking forward to that.
“He said Ajax is a great club and Amsterdam is a great city. The fans are nice, and the league is good. Only good things. I think my father is happy for me.
“Ibrahimović is just a name. I am Maximilian. We are both very different,” the 19-year-old concluded.
The fleet-footed winger is hopeful of securing more first-team minutes than U-23 games for the five-time UEFA Champions League winners
