Malmo fans offer Ibrahimovic's nose at auction!

Angry Swedish football fans are auctioning replicas of the sawn-off nose of a Zlatan Ibrahimovic statue to protest against the commercialization of the sport and what they perceive as the star's betrayal. Bids on the website eBay hit $610 (€568) on Tuesday. The lifesize bronze statue of the Swedish superstar, erected in his hometown of Malmo in 2019, has been the target of numerous attacks since he invested in Stockholm-based football club Hammarby in November 2019, angering supporters of Malmo FF, the club where he began his professional career. The statue's nose was sawn off in December 2019, with the feet going the following month, causing it to collapse against the barrier protecting it. Malmo FF fans said they had put three replicas of the original nose -- which is still missing -- up for auction "because choosing money over love can cost you dearly".Ibrahimovic "chose money over love of his hometown and the club where he began his career", they wrote on the specially-created website www.vararnasan.se, Swedish for "where is the nose"."Football was originally a mass movement, but it has increasingly turned into a hyper-commercialized mass industry, where fans are seen as consumers and players and clubs are treated like merchandise", they wrote. The sellers said they planned to use the profits from the auction in efforts to combat "modern and commercial football and promote a sport where the focus is on love for the clubs and the game".The artist who made the bronze sculpture, Peter Linde, was upset about the auction." The sellers complain that football is turning the game into big business, but they themselves are making money off a crime", he told daily Sydsvenskan. Ibrahimovic, who is currently 40 years old, began his football career in the age groups of Malmo, where he was born, and made his way to the first team in 1999, before starting his travels abroad by joining Ajax. After Ajax, Ibrahimovic began his journey between many major European clubs, starting with Juventus and Inter, passing through Barcelona and Milan for the first time, then Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United, before returning to “Rossoneri” in 2020 after an experience with Los Angeles Galaxy. The American, to contribute to leading him this season to his first title in the Italian League since 2011.