Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Zlatan was both one of the most gifted and divisive soccer players of his generation
Given that the World Cup is the time when the most Americans are watching soccer, many of them are likely being introduced to Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his supreme confidence/arrogance shtick for the first time. While the avid soccer fan knows where Zlatan’s confidence comes from, some of the more casual watchers are just finding out.
One of those previously unfamiliar fans took to social media to share their awe at Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s famous bicycle kick goal against England in 2012, noting that he’d never seen one taken from that far out before (and to be fair, he’s right — they’re not).
A video of the goal posted by a Chicago Bears fan account — replying to being asked if they’d ever seen the goal before — has racked up over 7 million views and 123,000 likes on X/Twitter.
This is why Zlatan talks how he does haha https://t.co/01KPmKzuBZ
— kofie.substack.com (@Kofie) July 1, 2026
“Thats why he be talkin all that s— on fox,” a similar viral tweet agreed.
“This is one of the many reasons why the football world just allows Zlatan to talk his s— whenever he likes lmao,” another added.
this is why it doesn’t sound corny when he talks the way he does. his 4th goal of the game btw https://t.co/gJlVrkCXlC
— iskaral pust. (@Biyyot) July 1, 2026
While Zlatan the character (caricature?) largely overshadows Zlatan the player these days, that doesn’t discount the fact that he was undeniably one of the most talented and dominant players of his era, having played for iconic clubs such as Ajax, Juventus, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, and AC Milan.
He scored over 570 goals in his career, with his 62 goals in 122 international appearances for Sweden making him the country’s all-time top scorer. His goals-per-90 ratio (essentially goals-per-game) of .74 is the 16th best all time, according to StatMuse.
Even during his time with LA Galaxy, he scored 52 goals in 56 games and produced one of the Major League Soccer’s most iconic goals/moments in his FIRST game. When he did leave MLS, he went BACK to Europe to play for AC Milan (for a second time), competed in the Champions League and scored 34 goals in 64 appearances.
The knock on Zlatan was never his ability — he has one of the elite highlight tapes you’ll ever see — it was his personality and how that ego was often at odds with the inherent ethos of a team sport.