Zlatan Dismisses U.S. Fans as Soft Ahead of World Cup

zlatan Ibrahimovic used Jimmy Kimmel Live to reopen an old argument before the World Cup, saying American football fans are softer than the ones he faced in Europe. He tied that view to his upcoming Fox commentary role in the United States, where his remarks will now reach the same audience he was describing.

Ibrahimovic on Fans

“I remember when I played here with the Galaxy, if we lost, I’d leave the stadium and see fans laughing, eating tacos, waiting by your car… Soft. In Europe, if you lose a match, the fans don’t wait by your car; they wait at your house. And certainly not with a taco in hand,” Ibrahimovic said.

He added that American football was softer than what he was used to, and said the league format helped create that difference. His line was blunt, but it was rooted in two places he knows well: the United States and Europe.

Marseille and Beverly Hills

His sharpest comparison came from Marseille, where he recalled a PSG away match in which knives were thrown onto the pitch. “I told my teammates that for the next goal, we’d celebrate in the centre of the pitch,” he said. “I wanted to get out alive; no more celebrations by the corner flag.”

He also pointed to his time in Beverly Hills, saying, “For two years, I never spoke to my neighbours, and I lived in Beverly Hills.” The contrast in that detail was clear: he described Europe as intense and immediate, while the U.S. version of pressure, in his telling, stayed far more controlled.

Fox Gets Zlatan

Ibrahimovic is set to commentate on the World Cup for Fox in the United States, which gives his comments a larger stage than a standard interview. He even leaned into the role, joking that if the level is right, he will announce his return to playing, then calling himself the Charles Barkley of football.

He sharpened that joke with a comparison that fit the rest of the interview: “Am I the Charles Barkley of football? Yes, I know who he is. But I won in my career; he didn’t.” He also framed the debate over Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo the way only he would: “Who’s better between Messi and Ronaldo? I say Zlatan.”