[PHOTO: COURTESY]A statue of Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be erected outside the Friends Arena in Stockholm, the Swedish FA (SvFF) announced on Monday as the giant striker won the Golden Ball award for the country's best male player for the 10th year in a row. Ibra has now won the Golden Ball a record 11 times - since its inception in 1946 no other player has won the award more than twice - and his contribution to the game will be honoured with a 2.7 metre statue outside the Friends stadium. "You usually get this after you die, but I still feel alive. When I die, this (statue) will live on forever." The Diamond Ball for the best female player went to 33-year-old Chelsea goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl, who won the award for the second year running thanks to her key role in Sweden's silver medal-winning team at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Source: Standard Digital November 22, 2016 08:29 UTC