Zlatan Ibrahimović created a sensation with his tweets in 2020: Who holds the rights to his name? He is now featured on the cover of EA FC 26.
“Who authorized FIFA EA Sports to utilize my name and image? […] It’s time to conduct some research.” – With these tweets, Zlatan Ibrahimović delivered arguably the most notable provocative statement against the FIFA soccer gaming series in the autumn of 2020. Five years after the public controversy, the Swedish icon now graces the cover of EA FC 26.
## What truly transpired back then
**In November 2020, Ibrahimović encounters his virtual likeness in FIFA 21**: rather than expressing joy over his digital representation, he lodges serious allegations: he never consented to EA Sports using his name and likeness. He has never authorized the necessary licenses to either FIFA or the players’ association FifPro (which aggregates the image rights of numerous professional athletes for video games globally).
> Who gave FIFA EA Sport permission to use my name and face? [@FIFPro](https://twitter.com/FIFPRO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)? I’m not aware if I am a member of Fifpro and if I am, it was without my genuine knowledge through some strange maneuver.
> And certainly, I never permitted [@FIFAcom](https://twitter.com/FIFAcom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) or Fifpro to profit from me
> – Zlatan Ibrahimović (@Ibra_official) [November 23, 2020](https://twitter.com/Ibra_official/status/1330926882158735361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
**For Zlatan, it was evident:** “Someone has been profiting from my name and image for years – without my approval.”
The narrative spread widely, not least because former Real Madrid player Gareth Bale also openly questioned who truly had the right to use his image rights. Shortly after, numerous other professionals and players’ unions chimed in.
**EA Sports responds:** The required rights were properly obtained through the leagues, clubs, and FifPro – as has been standard practice for decades.
For Ibrahimović, who suddenly regards himself as a symbolic figure in the discourse on individual versus collective image rights, this is scant consolation: “EA Sports, your games rely on individual image rights. But you didn’t purchase them from me, you didn’t purchase them from AC Milan, and you didn’t purchase them from FifPro. So from whom exactly?”.
It’s a considerable transition from the heated Twitter exchanges to the moment when Zlatan appears joyfully on the cover of the Ultimate Edition of FC 26. The cover presentation mirrors his journey, includes numerous nods to his former clubs, and references a famous photograph of the young Zlatan in front of a Ronaldo Nazário poster:
But evidently, EA Sports has now secured an individual agreement with the superstar, and the new collaboration is being heralded with great fanfare. Many already consider it a certainty that Ibra will receive an icon card in the Ultimate Team mode in the forthcoming edition – and further appearances, such as in story mode, are very much a possibility.
The post [A soccer legend was FIFA’s biggest critic for years, now he’s on the cover of FC 26](https://www.global-esports.news/fifa20/a-soccer-legend-was-fifas-biggest-critic-for-years-now-hes-on-the-cover-of-fc-26/) first appeared on [Global Esport News](https://www.global-esports.news).