That Zlatan would put his football boots on the shelf did not reach David Lagercrantz until the morning after the press conference.
"I was a little moved," he told Kulturnyheterna.
"I would have been a little tired of Zlatan and his slightly grandiose charisma, but often when an athlete quits, you not only see the latest but get a perspective on your entire career.
"Meant everything to my writing"
David Lagercrantz wrote the football star's autobiography "Jag är Zlatan" which was published in 2011 and became a commercial success with 415,000 copies sold in the first month. The book was also nominated for an August Prize and became the author's big breakthrough.
– Zlatan has meant everything to my writing, I thought it would be a parenthesis, that I would ghostwrite a book by an athlete. But I really got everything with that book," says Lagercrantz.
According to him, the book also reached many people who do not normally read books.
"For me, it was the most beautiful thing there is. I usually say that it is the biggest thing Zlatan has done, he got people to start reading and reading is a way into society.
"A person we never had"
Zlatan Ibrahimovic's imprint in both sports and cultural expressions, such as films and books, Lagercrantz describes as unique.
"He was a person we had never had in Sweden before.
Among sports stars who were "boring", Ibrahimovic stood out.
"When he arrives in the 90s, we've only had stars who have been stifled by jante culture and that they can't stand out, both (Ingemar) Stenmark and (Björn, editor's note.) Borg was like that. But then a guy from a different kind of Sweden comes along and says he's going to be the best.
In the clip above, Lagercrantz answers three questions about Zlatan and the book, including how much he earned and whether there will be a sequel. He also explains why he is particularly charmed by "the modern Zlatan"