International soccer star Zlatan Ibrahimovic has a huge following. He has played at some of the biggest and best clubs in the world and his current club Paris Saint-Germain, has some very passionate fans. It comes as no surprise that one of Zlatan’s PSG fans purchased the domain name ‘Zlatan.fr’ in hopes of meeting the star when he wanted to claim the domain name as his own. But, what was surprising was what the fan did with the site.
He did not purchase it to poke fun at Zlatan (e.g. Mark Cuban’s purchase of Nets.com), instead he presented Zlatan with a series of twelve “challenges,” of which Zlatan can choose one in order to get his domain name back. From Zlatan.fr:
Hello Zlatan,
first, I hope you’re doing well. As for me, if I can reassure you, I’m doing great.
When you signed in my beloved soccer club, I got the hudge surprise to see that the domain name “Zlatan.fr” was available… do you believe that ?! So, I rushed to book it… you know, I really didn’t want anyone wicked to take advantage of your name and image.
By the way, as you can see, I didn’t put any commercial link on that website… you can admit that I am a nice buddy. I could have made a fortune with such a domain name !
So now, I give you the opportunity to have it back. And for that, as you can imagine, we won’t bother with lawyers and endless procedures. Obviously it would be a waste of time and money for both of us. Instead, I got a much funnier idea. And as I am a very good guy, I let you have the choice of weapons.
Are you ready ? So here it is… if you manage to succeed in one of those challenges, the domain name “Zlatan.fr” will be yours :
Then come the “challenges.” Some of which are hilarious; others are a little bit weird. You decide which one you would do if you were Zlatan:
– offer me a dedicated PSG jersey, with my name on it and the following quote : “After Zlatan, you really are the best !”
– stay at my place for a month. This way, all my life, I could say :”Ibra ? Sure, he used to sleep on my couch for a while.”
– offer me 3 lifetime season tickets, for two of my friends and I. Obviously, I’m talking about Official tribune tickets… don’t try to fool me with your crappy H Blue tribune tickets…
– win penalty kicks against me, at the Parc des Princes of course, so that you’re at home and have no excuse in case I win.
– beat me at Taekwondo. I’ve heard you’re not too bad at it. As I’ve never practiced that sport myself, I recommend you to choose this challenge.
– give me one of your hair lock as a gift. Samson’s strength came from his long hair. I think it works the same way with you. Then, I can make a key ring with it, which will bring me power for the rest of my life.
– beat me at FIFA13. You can choose the teams but, anyway trust me, there is no way you can make it.
– score a more-than-30-meter-backflip-goal in an official game. Just kidding… this is not realistic.
– let me slap you in the face, without saying a word… and in public obviously.
– offer a bare-chested dedicated photo of you to my girlfriend. Frankly, among all of those challenges, I have to confess it’s not my favorite. I’m getting fed up to see twinkles in her eyes when you take off your jersey at the end of a game.
– manage to have Neymar sign at PSG during the 2013 summer mercato.
– simply ask me to let you have this domain name for free… but face to face and – as a tribute to Guillaume – in French obviously.
The easiest ones would be taking the penalty kicks, giving the picture to the guy’s girlfriend or simply asking for the domain name in person. The weirdest has to be the locket of hair. (I’ve never understood why anyone would want a locket of hair?) Getting slapped in the face in public? I thought Zlatan was his favorite player? Not going to happen. Zlatan somehow managing to have Neymar sign to PSG is highly unrealistic. But the creepiest, and most unrealistic, is staying at this guy’s place for a month. You really think an international superstar like Zlatan Ibrahimovic would ever slum it with common-folk? Come on, bro.
If Zlatan actually did complete one of these challenges, it would be pretty awesome, but as Deadspin’s Isaac Rauch points out, Ibrahimovic.fr is available. I have a feeling Zlatan will be opting for that domain name.
