Zlatan Ibrahimovic is drawing criticism again, this time for his work as a pundit rather than for anything he said on the pitch. The former Sweden star, now a senior adviser to RedBird, the owners of AC Milan, has been attacked over his Fox coverage of the 2026 World Cup.
In a long Athletic column, the studio team of Ibrahimovic, Thierry Henry, Alexi Lalas and host Rebecca Lowe was criticized, with Ibrahimovic singled out as arrogant and underwhelming. The piece argued, “We need less Zlatan and less Lalas, and then Fox’s show will be better,” while praising Lowe and Henry as a more balanced and informative combination. It said Ibrahimovic struggles to offer deep analysis of some teams and players, and even seemed unfamiliar with Jesse Marsch, the American coach of Canada.
The article said Ibrahimovic relies too heavily on his famous persona, confident, sharp-tongued and ego-driven, instead of using the football insight that made him one of his generation’s great strikers. It added that Fox should make better use of his goalscoring knowledge, for example by having him explain shooting techniques and movements, rather than focusing on his personality.
His exchanges with Lalas have also become part of the broadcast’s appeal and irritation. Some viewers find the back-and-forth entertaining, while others see it as uncomfortable. Before the United States-Australia match, Lowe noted Lalas was absent because he was in Seattle. Ibrahimovic replied, “Who?” and then joked, “America, you’re welcome.” The banter followed earlier jabs, including Lalas suggesting Erling Haaland could surpass Ibrahimovic’s legacy with a strong World Cup, and Ibrahimovic answering Lalas’s description of France as “arrogant” by saying, “That is not arrogance, it is confidence. People who are ignorant will call it arrogance, smart people will call it confidence.”
