Ibrahimović was born in
Sweden to a
Bosnian father who emigrated to Sweden in 1977, Šefik Ibrahimović, and a
Croatian mother, Jurka Gravić,
[3] who also emigrated to Sweden, where they first met. His father is from
Bijeljina,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, and his mother is from
Zadar village Prkos,
Croatia.
Ibrahimović grew up in
Rosengård,
a Malmö neighbourhood known for its immigrant communities, along with
his three sisters and two brothers. After receiving a pair of football
boots, Ibrahimović began playing football at the age of six, alternating
between local junior clubs
Malmö BI and
FBK Balkan.
[5][6]
He has stated in an interview that while his team was down 4–0 during
halftime, he came on as a substitute for his Balkan youth team and
dramatically scored eight goals. While in his early teens, he was a
regular for his hometown club
Malmö FF.
[6] At the age of 15, Ibrahimović was close to quitting his football career, in favour of working at the
docks in Malmö, but his manager convinced him to continue playing.
[7] Ibrahimović successfully completed junior high school in the ninth grade. Though he was admitted to
Borgarskolan and had above average grades, he soon dropped out of high school to focus on his football career.
