Sweden coach, Hakan Ericson, has named talismanic forward, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, in his provisional squad for the 2016 Rio Olympic football event.
Men’s Olympic football is played by teams made up mainly of players aged under 23, but each squad may choose a maximum of three players born before 1 January 1993.
Ibrahimovic, 34, currently captaining the Swedish team at the 2016 European Championship in France, is certain to make the 18-man contingent to the South American nation.
“In the initial phase we felt that those playing the Euros can’t double up, but I’ve had a talk with Zlatan,” Ericson told Reuters.
“It could be a new phase in his career, and Zlatan has said that he is willing to wait until after the Euros [to decide].
“I want to keep open the tiniest gap that might exist, because it would be fantastic to bring Zlatan.”
Should the Paris Saint-Germain all-time scorer agree to play at the tournament, he will square off against Nigeria, Colombia and Japan.
They begin their campaign against Colombia in the Amazônia Stadium in Manaus on 4 August, the day before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
Regarded as the most decorated Swedish player ever, Ibrahimovic has played 114 times for the national side, scoring 62 goals, but has never featured at the Olympics.
He has kitted for European giants such as Ajax, Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Barcelona and PSG.
