Zlatan Ibrahimovic Becomes Fox’s Most-Watched World Cup Analyst

Fox Sports knew exactly what it was buying when it hired Zlatan Ibrahimovic for its U.S. World Cup studio panel, alongside Thierry Henry and Alexi Lalas. The network wanted Henry’s insight, Lalas’s viral chaos, and Ibrahimovic, according to the article, to combine both while helping explain soccer to an American audience that is growing but still far from fully converted. Fox announced in March that Ibrahimovic had agreed to join its World Cup coverage.

Ibrahimovic is reportedly being paid about $1.5 million for a little more than a month of work. By the end of the first round of matches, the article says he had already proven worth the money. After Belgium played Iran, he joked, “In the first half I almost fell asleep, in the second half I fell asleep,” prompting comedian Roy Wood Jr. to quip that the more bored Ibrahimovic gets, the more entertaining he becomes.

The 44-year-old former striker has adjusted to life as a TV pundit by dropping the suit and tying back his hair less, but he has not changed his habit of speaking in the third person. Before the tournament, he told The Wall Street Journal, “They want Zlatan, and I will give them Zlatan again, but from another angle.” He also said that after 25 years of being judged, “now finally I can judge others, but in my own way, nice or not, let’s see what mood I’m in.”

Ibrahimovic, who played in two World Cups with Sweden and never scored, retired in 2023 after one final spell with Milan following his 2018 move to LA Galaxy. His career manager, Milan owner Gerry Cardinale, helped arrange the Fox job and sees it as a possible launchpad to Hollywood, even saying his ambition is to make Ibrahimovic “the next James Bond villain.” Ibrahimovic, who still owns his Los Angeles home, views the World Cup stint as an audition. His on-air role has also become a running joke online, especially when he dismisses Lalas and teams up with Henry to needle him. When Lalas accused France of arrogance after beating Senegal, Ibrahimovic replied, “That’s not arrogance, it’s confidence. Ignorant people will say it’s arrogance, intelligent people will say it’s confidence.” After Lalas left the studio during the United States’ win over Australia, Ibrahimovic told the camera, “You’re welcome, America.”