Welcome to #Euro2016Rank, a weeklong look at the top 25 players we expect to see at the European Championship. Over 50 ESPN FC experts and writers from across the globe voted, and we're rolling out the results right up to opening day, when France plays Romania on June 10.
Why is Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the top 25?
"Dare to Zlatan" is the catchphrase of a man never remotely swayed by self-doubt, and his roll of honour suggests why he possesses such confidence in himself. In his past 10 seasons in club football -- with Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan and most recently PSG -- he has won nine league titles. Back home, he is more popular than his country's royal family. Even at 34, the tall, skilful striker's prolific scoring rate has been maintained. France, where he has plied his trade for the past four years, will be the venue for his swansong as captain and spiritual leader of Sweden. He will retire from international football as soon as his Euro 2016 is over.
What the experts say:
"He is very special -- he is one of the best strikers in the world. I'm just glad that I don't have to face him all the time. It's not that I'm scared of him and what he can do, no, but I do respect him and what he can do." -- Jose Mourinho on his former Inter striker, April 2014.
"What sets him apart? Firstly you don't see his physique on a lot of people. At 1.95 metres [6-foot-4] and nearly 100 kilograms [15.5 stone], you don't see many players of his build. When you combine that with strength, intelligence, his skills, technique and speed, you have a pretty phenomenal sportsman that is difficult to stop." -- former Sweden strike partner Henrik Larsson, November 2013.
Career highlight:
Winning titles has become such a routine that a moment of supreme skill ought to be remembered instead. When at Ajax, in August 2004, he scored the solo strike that bamboozled the defenders and goalkeeper of NAC Breda and announced him as a world-class player in the making.
Stat of the season:
Zlatan scored 50 goals in 51 games in all competitions in his final season at PSG.
What next for Ibrahimovic after Euro 2016?
Having waved goodbye to PSG by winning a domestic Treble, he could now join up with mentor Mourinho at Manchester United.
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