Veteran AC Milan forward Zlatan Ibrahimović announced his immediate retirement from soccer at the end of an emotional night at San Siro on Sunday.

Ibrahimović was out of contract with the Serie A club at the end of the season and Milan had already announced there would be a special ceremony after its match against Hellas Verona to bid farewell to the 41-year-old Swede.

But Ibrahimović later revealed in a news conference that no one knew the big news he was about to drop.

“Even my family didn’t know, because I wanted that when I announced it everyone heard it at the same time,” he said.

Ibrahimović was given a guard of honor by his teammates as he walked out after the match at San Siro. He struggled to hold back the tears as he took the microphone and said: “The time has come to say goodbye to soccer but not to you.”

Ibrahimović scored 93 goals in 163 appearances over two spells at Milan. He returned in January 2020 and helped Milan win the Serie A title last year — his second league trophy with the Rossoneri.