Football: Zlatan Ibrahimovic leaves LA Galaxy

By Muhammed Enes Calli

ANKARA (AA) - Zlatan Ibrahimovic confirmed on social media that he will not expire his contract with LA Galaxy.

The former Swedish international striker's contract with the MLS club will end on Dec. 2019.

Ibrahimovic has appreciated LA Galaxy on Twitter with an ironic message to the U.S. clubs fans by saying ''the story continues... go back to watch baseball'' in his farewell post on Wednesday.

“I came, I saw, I conquered. Thank you LA Galaxy for making me feel alive again. To the Galaxy fans – you wanted Zlatan, I gave you Zlatan. You are welcome. The story continues … now go back to watch baseball,” he posted on Twitter.

LA Galaxy released a statement from their website to announce of Ibrahimovic's departure on Wednesday.

''The club and the player have agreed to mutually part ways,'' LA Galaxy said.

''We would like to thank Zlatan for his contributions to the LA Galaxy and Major League Soccer,'' LA Galaxy President Chris Klein said.

''Since his arrival in 2018, Zlatan has positively influenced the sport of soccer in Los Angeles. We are grateful for his work ethic and passion. We thank Zlatan for his professionalism and immeasurable impact on the Los Angeles community and the soccer community in North America as a whole.''

Ibrahimovic had an outstanding form for LA Galaxy, scoring 53 goals in 58 matches.

His excellent performance helped LA Galaxy to reach to the 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs, but they were eliminated by Los Angeles FC in the Western Conference semi-finals.

In his first year in the U.S, Swedish forward was selected in the MLS All-Star and MLS Best XI.

He was also named the MLS Newcomer of the Year Award and MLS Goal of the Year in 2018.

Before joining the U.S. club on March 2018, Sweden's top scorer made appearances for the several European powerhouses such as Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona, Milan, Paris St Germain and Manchester United.

The 38-year-old striker scored 456 goals in 741 matches during his club career.