Zlatan Ibrahimovic has revealed why he stripped off his shirt after scoring just two minutes into Paris Saint-Germain’s draw with Caen on Saturday afternoon.
The Sweden striker was showing his support for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) by tattooing the names of 50 hungry people helped by the charity onto his body.
The WFP has helped 805 million hungry people all around the world and the 50 chosen by Ibrahimovic symbolically represented some of the worst humanitarian crises ongoing today.
‘Wherever I go people recognize me, call my name, cheer for me,’ said the PSG striker, who found the net after just 72 seconds in the Ligue 1 encounter at the Parc des Princes.
‘But there are names no one cares to remember. That no one cheers for: the 805m people suffering from hunger in the world today.
‘I have the supporters all over the world. From now on I want this support to go to the people who suffer from hunger, they are the real champions.
‘So whenever you hear my name, you will think of their names.’
Ibrahimovic had the temporary tattoos – of names such as Carmen, Mariko, Antoine, Lida, Rahma and Yaae – applied to his torso ahead of the Caen match.
When he scored in the second minute – extending a leg to direct Serge Aurier’s cross into the bottom corner – he removed his shirt in the middle of the field to show off the tapestry of tattoos.
Ibrahimovic received a yellow card for his troubles, as the rules dictate, but wasn’t overly concerned having got his message across to the world.
‘Each one of the 805m people suffering from hunger in the world has a name, a voice, a story to share,’ said WFP director for France Marina Catena.
‘Zlatan accepted the challenge and wished to carry their stories on his own skin so that the world does not forget them.’
(Source: dailymail)
