At the time of the Thompson story, Ibišević and his wife lived near Stuttgart with their young son Ismail. Thompson noted that when Ibišević looked for a house when he transferred to VfB Stuttgart, he "found himself drawn" to one that reminded him of the family home in Bosnia that they were forced to abandon during the war. He also bought a home for his father Šaban in Tuzla that had previously been owned by his father's employer, which according to Thompson was "a symbol of what the war had taken". The home is more a spiritual balm for Šaban, since he continues to live in St. Louis, where he manages apartment buildings that his son owns. Ibišević also rebuilt his father's boyhood home in their former village of Gerovi, and has built several war memorials in the area.