Sharjah (UAE) – Football icon Zlatan Ibrahimović will close the curtain Sunday night on the 41st Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF).
For the last two weeks, the book fair has put together and interesting gathering of authors, editors, publishers, and librarians.
The 41-year-old Swedish football icon will be making his way for the first time to the world’s largest book fair to talk about the longevity of his still active career spanning more than two decades.
The goal poacher has not only scored many goals on the field but has also set the pace in bookstores around the globe with the huge success of his best-selling books, I am Zlatan Ibrahimović, I Am Football: Zlatan Ibrahimović, Adrenaline: My Untold Stories and his latest and anticipated release, My Untold Story.
Starting his career at Swedish club Malmö FF in 1999, Ibrahimović has made over 100 appearances for the Swedish national team and represented many world-famous clubs including Juventus, Inter Milan, A.C. Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United as well as FC Barcelona.
Ibrahimović’s transfer to the Spanish giants is still one of the world’s most expensive transfers to date.
With this extensive history in professional football, Ibrahimović has won 34 trophies and has scored almost 600 career goals to date.
Meanwhile, Ibrahimović’s keynote address will be preceded by a moderated discussion that will unravel the unseen and the unknown facets of one of the fastest bowlers in the world, the “Rawalpindi Express”, Shoaib Akhtar.
The Pakistani cricket legend is expected to enthrall the audience with tales about the bouncers he frequently unleashed on batsmen, which will be followed by a gripping story (Dastaangoi style) based on his life.
On Saturday night, India’s most celebrated actor Shah Rukh Khan – popularly known as the King of Bollywood – talked about books at the SIBF and how they made us appreciate common values that unite us all as human beings.
The 57-year-old actor who has more than 80 films under his belt over a three-decade-long career said that books were important, and everybody should participate in events like SIBF to not only read but to also learn how to write and enrich them.
“The role of art, creativity and culture is pivotal in society. They can transcend differences and appreciate common values that unite us all as human beings,” Khan said.
“Being platforms to celebrate books and tell stories that bring together different cultures and noble values in one place, cinema and such a large book fair like SIBF can help us choose the side that defines who we are and build the world we aspire to have in the future.”