Zlatan Ibrahimovic was reduced to tears during a Sweden press conference when asked about the impact of his international return on his family.
Ibrahimovic broke down ahead of Sweden's clash with Georgia on Thursday.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan was brought to tears when asked about leaving his sons to join up with the Swedish national team 🥺 pic.twitter.com/bxSSjPQIQs
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 22, 2021
Asked what he said to his sons before he left for international duty, Zlatan responded:
"That is not a good question you are asking. I had Vincent here who really cried when I left him.
"But now it's okay," he said before wiping tears from his eyes.
Return
The 39-year-old AC Milan striker has been named in the Sweden squad for this month's 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
Ibrahimovic retired from international football five years ago after a Euro 2016 tournament in which he played against the Republic of Ireland.
He posted a short message on Twitter with a photograph of himself in the famous yellow shirt that read, "The return of the God".
Ibrahimovic scored 62 goals in 116 international appearances before quitting after they exited at the group stage in France.
Sweden boss Janne Andersson flew to Milan to meet with the striker after comments he made in an interview seemed to indicate that he was open to reversing his retirement decision.
He has been in excellent form with the Rossoneri this season, scoring 14 goals in 14 games, helping them to second place in the table.
Sweden are due to play Georgia on 25 March before they take on Kosovo three days later in the qualifiers before a friendly with Estonia on 31 March.
"He can be a little bit funny at times," replied Andersson after he was informed about the striker's tweet during an online news conference.
"First and foremost he is a very good footballer, the best we have had in Sweden. It's obviously very good that he wants to come back.
"Apart from what he can contribute on the field, he has incredible experience and can contribute that to the other players in the team."
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