A statue of Zlatan Ibrahimovic was vandalized and apparently set on fire outside the stadium of his boyhood club, Malmo, as fans reacted with fury at the Swedish star buying a stake in one of its biggest rivals on Wednesday.

Axar.az reports citing ES that Ibrahimovic outlined his desire to make Hammarby the "best in Scandinavia" after acquiring nearly 25% of the Stockholm-based club in his first move into football club ownership.

"There are no limits to how big Hammarby can be," Ibrahimovic told Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet in its Wednesday edition after the deal was announced.

His decision to invest in Hammarby went down badly in Malmo - where Ibrahimovic grew up and started his illustrious and globetrotting career - just a month after a golden statue of the 38-year-old striker was unveiled at his former club's stadium.