EA Sports is getting ready to unveil EA FC 26 officially with Zlatan Ibrahimović as the Ultimate Edition’s cover star.
The legendary Swedish striker was announced as the cover star as EA announced EA FC 26’s first trailer is coming July 16th.
This is despite the fact that Ibrahimović once angrily criticised EA for profiting off his name and appearance without his permission.
The Ultimate Edition is the premium version of the game with a week of early access.
Its cover features a picture of Zlatan laying in bed reading the biography of his footballing hero, Brazilian Ronaldo.
The image is a recreation of an iconic photo taken early in Ibrahimović’s career during his time with Ajax.
While the new version still pays tribute to R9, the posters have been replaced by images of Zlatan’s own legendary moments.
For the normal version of FC 26, the cover stars will be Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham and Bayern Munich’s now-injured Jamal Musiala.
The retired Ibrahimović will likely appear in the game as an Icon card in Ultimate Team mode.
This would be his first appearance in the franchise since FIFA 23.
Zlatan Ibrahimović criticises EA Sports
Back in 2020, the outspoken Ibrahimović took to Twitter to angrily complain about his inclusion in FIFA games.
His license was included by a group that looked after footballers called Fifpro.
The series of tweets read: “Who gave FIFA EA Sport permission to use my name and face?
“I’m not aware of being a member of Fifpro and if I am, I was put there without any real knowledge through some weird manoeuvre. And for sure, I never allowed @FIFAcom or Fifpro to make money using me.
“Somebody is making profit on my name and face without any agreement all these years. Time to investigate.”
EA Sports responded in kind by shifting the blame to Fifpro and Zlatan’s infamous agent, Mino Raiola:
Speaking to Forbes, EA commented:
“This isn’t our fight. This isn’t about EA Sports or videogames, players or fans. It’s a battle between football agents and FIFPro.
“Mino Raiola is a respected player representative who we have partnered with for many years, including this year when our relationship ensured his client Erling Haaland would be part of our FIFA 21 marketing campaign.”
“We have also enjoyed a great working relationship with Zlatan Ibrahimović, who has appeared in every FIFA since 2002 and regularly received awards as part of our FUT experience.”
