Paris Saint-Germain star Zlatan Ibrahimovic said he was "still living my boyhood dream" after he was crowned Swedish footballer of the year for the ninth time.
After ending last season with a Ligue 1 and Coupe de la Ligue winner's medal, and the honour of being the French top-flight's leading scorer, Ibrahimovic, 33, was unsurprisingly named Guldbollen for 2014 at a ceremony in Stockholm on Monday, picking up the award for the eighth successive year [Freddie Ljungberg won in 2006.]
"What do you say after nine Gold Balls? I do not think there is so much to say. It speaks for itself," Ibrahimovic, who also received the honour in 2005, told the audience. "I am still living my boyhood dream with football. All these awards and golden balls are proof that you have done something good."
He added: "I play to be the best and to win the trophies to be won. And I've been lucky to have been able to do that. If I can keep doing it, it will be good for my stats. It speaks for the football that I produce. In the end, people talk about the trophies you have won, everything else becomes unimportant then. I'm just proud and happy to win. But I want a lot more."
Despite his euphoria, Ibrahimovic spared a thought for fellow footballers Klas Ingesson and Pontus Segerstrom, who both died of cancer last month, as well as his brother, Sapko, who passed away earlier this year.
"This is overshadowed by what happened with Klas and Pontus. I myself had a brother who passed away a few months ago with a similar illness. So there is a life outside of this which is much more important. May they rest in peace."