Zlatan Ibrahimovic's son joins Ajax: Explosive transfer reignites 20-year feud

Milan Keskin

• 14 Jan 2026 09:20 CST
• 3 min read

News

Maximilian Ibrahimovic was presented as a new Ajax player on Wednesday.

The 19-year-old attacker is on loan from AC Milan and will be playing for Jong Ajax in the coming months. This is noteworthy because of Damian van der Vaart's presence in Willem Weijs's starting lineup.

Fathers Rafael van der Vaart and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have had a history of being at odds with each other.

25 years after his father moved from Malmö FF to Ajax, it's now Maximilian's turn.

The winger is thrilled with his chance in Amsterdam: "It's great that my father also played for Ajax. I'm happy that I now have the opportunity to develop myself further here.

"I'm here to do my own thing. And I'm really looking forward to it. I'm my own person and player, and I want to write my own story. I feel good. I'm excited."

Zlatan Ibrahimovic told his son about Ajax and thus played a major role in the transfer: "He said Ajax is a great club and Amsterdam is a fantastic city.

"The fans are great, and the league is good. Only good things. I think my father is happy for me. Ibrahimovic is just a name. I'm Maximilian. We're both very different."

Zlatan's past

In 2001, Zlatan Ibrahimovic transferred from Malmö to Ajax for €7.8m. The striker would ultimately play 110 matches for Ajax before moving to Juventus. Zlatan scored 48 goals for Ajax.

Zlatan, now 44, played alongside Rafael van der Vaart for several years, whose son Damian will now play with Maximilian. The two fathers didn't get along well.

The rivalry between Rafael van der Vaart and Zlatan Ibrahimovic goes back many years, to their time at Ajax in the early 2000s. They clashed regularly back then, both on and off the pitch.

Both players had different mentalities, which led to significant disputes. Things went terribly wrong in 2004, during an international match between Sweden and the Netherlands.

Ibrahimovic made a heavy tackle on Van der Vaart's ankle, who then publicly claimed it was intentional. This completely upset Zlatan, who infamously responded with the legendary words: "If you say that again, I'll break your legs."

Van der Vaart, who is now a pundit, has made no secret of the fact that he still holds a grudge against the Swede, going so far as to call him an "a**hole" on record.

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