Zlatan Ibrahimović has gone from threatening authorized motion towards EA Sports activities again in 2020, to changing into the quilt star of the most recent EA FC 26’s Final Version. It is a character arc so dramatic, it may solely occur to a person who as soon as stated, “Lions do not evaluate themselves to people.”
The 43-year-old Swedish icon, who retired in 2023 after a profession that produced 496 targets and 203 assists throughout 827 appearances, has been unveiled because the face of EA Sports activities’ newest soccer simulation. This represents fairly the about-turn from 2020, when Ibrahimović launched a really public broadside towards the gaming large, accusing them of utilizing his identify and likeness in FIFA 21 with out his consent.
“Who gave FIFA EA Sport permission to make use of my identify and face?” the previous Manchester United, Barcelona, and AC Milan striker had thundered on social media, focusing on each EA Sports activities and FIFPro, the worldwide gamers’ union. His tweets carried the kind of righteous indignation sometimes reserved for referees who dare to ebook him for dissent.
Who gave FIFA EA Sport permission to make use of my identify and face? @FIFPro? I’m not conscious to be a member of Fifpro and if I’m I used to be put there with none actual information by some bizarre manouver.
And for certain I by no means allowed @FIFAcom or Fifpro to earn a living utilizing me— Zlatan Ibrahimović (@Ibra_official) November 23, 2020
On the time, Ibrahimović claimed he had no settlement with EA Sports activities, had obtained no earnings from his digital appearances, and questioned whether or not he was even a member of FIFPro – suggesting he’d been enrolled “by some bizarre manoeuvre” with out his information. It was classic Zlatan: dramatic, defiant, and fully plausible coming from a person who as soon as stated he did not have to chase the ball as a result of the ball ought to chase him.
Quick-forward 5 years, and it seems all has been forgiven – or maybe extra precisely, all has been correctly compensated. EA Sports activities introduced through social media that “you requested. Zlatan is again,” presenting the Swedish legend as their Final Version cowl star with the kind of fanfare normally reserved for precise soccer transfers.
You requested. Zlatan is again.
Presenting your #FC26 Final Version Cowl. See the total reveal July 16: pic.twitter.com/BsoYcqY7Vr
— EA SPORTS FC (@EASPORTSFC) July 14, 2025
The timing could not be extra excellent. EA Sports activities FC 26 is about for world launch on twenty sixth September, with pre-orders already obtainable providing early entry and unique bonuses. The sport guarantees important gameplay enhancements based mostly on fan suggestions, although one suspects Zlatan’s inclusion wasn’t precisely a neighborhood request a lot as a business masterstroke.
Ibrahimović is predicted to obtain an Icon card – one of many rarest and most coveted objects within the recreation’s Final Staff mode. Given his most prolific spell got here at Paris Saint-Germain, the place he netted 156 targets in 180 video games, his digital incarnation is prone to be equally devastating in pixelated type.
Maybe that is merely the pure order of issues being restored. In spite of everything, if you’re Zlatan Ibrahimović, even your authorized disputes are simply elaborate negotiations for higher phrases.
Written with the View : afaqs
