Zlatan Ibrahimovic buys a former church in Sweden for £8.5 million

A church to worship Zlatan Ibrahimovic? Not exactly!

Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has reportedly paid £8.51 million to own a former church in his homeland, according to Telegraph. Ibrahimovic’s new investment property is located in the Stockholm suburb of Ostermalm and it has been converted from a ‘house of God’ into a townhouse.

The purchase is the latest property Ibrahimovic has added to his portfolio as he approaches the twilight of his footballing career. The 34-year-old is reportedly planning to convert the building into a residential property. He isn’t expected to occupy the property himself but it is thought to be a strategic investment only.

A real estate publication in Sweden, Fastighetsvarlden, has claimed that the striker paid £8.51 million for the former church in the country’s capital suburbs Ostermalm. According to sources, his mother, Jurka Gravic, has given his son’s name on the registered documents even though she is a part of the holding company that purchased the property.

Lindormen 13, which is the name of the property, has now been renovated into a townhouse and it is a four-storeyed building. The building has a large storage room in the basement, a large garage and office on the ground floor, the second and third floor, accessed by double stairs which include more rooms. On the top floor, there are five rooms including a large open room where a wide staircase leads to the roof and a large terrace facing the courtyard.

Since he is approaching towards the end of his playing career, the investment on this property could suggest that PSG’s all-time leading goal scorer would prefer to live in Stockholm rather than Malmo when he retires.

“It is much bigger, Stockholm,” he said. “There are more options and it is easier to move.”

“It feels more international. The fact that I've lived abroad a lot [means] I must have [an] international sense.”

Ibrahimovic recently reserved the main square for the fans in Malmo

Earlier this year, the Sweden international had reserved the main square for the fans in Malmo for the Champions League clash against his former club – where he made a his career breakthrough. Ibrahimovic made his fist senior debut in 1999 at Malmo and spent two seasons with the club before switching over to Ajax in the Dutch Eredivisie. His decision to reserve the main square in his hometown was for the fans to witness his return on 25 November.

It is no surprise the former AC Milan striker is worshipped by many fans around the world. Now with the purchase of a house that was once fit for the worship of a deity, there is no doubt on whether his God-like status in Sweden could growing even bigger.