Ahead of the mundial in Russia, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been in the news recently staking a claim about a world cup won’t be a world cup without the Zlatan. The former Swedish international retired from the national team after Euro 2016, was not part of the squad throughout the qualifying stages and also the most important one against Italy in a playoff .

The Swedish Football Association announced on Thursday that Zlatan Ibrahimovic will not be participating in the World Cup in Russia this summer.

The announcement ended several weeks of uncertainty about a possible return for the 36-year-old Los Angeles Galaxy striker, fed mostly by the player himself with ambiguous messages, which had generated some fatigue between his former teammates and coach Jan Andersson.

"I spoke with Zlatan on Tuesday and he told me he has not changed his mind about the national team, and his 'no' remains valid," said Lars Richt, head of the Swedish national team.

"As has happened in previous calls, Ibrahimovic is therefore not eligible for the squad list that coach Andersson will make public on May 15."

The fact that he signed an advertising contract with a credit card company with his face displayed in Russia had raised questions about whether it was just a promotion for himself financially.

Sweden are placed in Group F, with Germany, Mexico and South Korea.

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