AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has slammed EA Sports, claiming they are using his name and face in the FIFA video game series without his permission.
The former Sweden forward took aim at the makers of FIFA 21 in a social media rant on Monday afternoon, saying it is “time to investigate”.
“Who gave FIFA EA Sport permission to use my name and face? @FIFPro?” the 39-year-old wrote on Twitter.
“I’m not aware to be a member of Fifpro and if I am I was put there without any real knowledge through some weird maneuver.
“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”
On-loan Tottenham forward Gareth Bale also weighed in on the debate, saying on Twitter: “@Ibra_official Interesting… what is @FIFPro ? #TimeToInvestigate.”
Though Ibrahimovic claims not to be a member of Fifpro, the global players union, he was included in the FIFpro World XI in 2013 and was present to collect his award at the FIFA Ballon d’Or ceremony in Zurich in January the following year.
Bale has also been named in one of the FIFpro World XI reserve teams on multiple occasions and has his own FIFA Esports team.
Earlier this year EA Sports announced an exclusive multi-year partnership with AC Milan and their city rivals Inter, which commenced with the launch of FIFA 21 this October.
The agreement sees the Italian giants feature exclusively in FIFA 21 – meaning the game boasts all-encompassing access to the Rossoneri and Nerazzurri players, kits, training grounds and stadium. That is almost certain to include Ibrahimovic, who returned for a second spell with the Rossoneri in December 2019.
However, it seems Ibrahimovic still is not happy and believes the organisation is profiting from his image without his permission.
Milan’s Serie A rivals Roma do not feature in FIFA 21 as they have signed an exclusive deal with Konami, makers of rival football video game series Pro Evolution Soccer.
Barcelona, Juventus and Arsenal are also among the clubs to have signed a deal with Konami in recent years.
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