Closing Shot: ‘You’re welcome’

Zlatan Ibrahimović wasted little time making an impact for the Galaxy, walking away the hero after leading the team to a comeback win over LAFC during his debut on March 31.getty images

It took Zlatan Ibrahimović fewer than two minutes into his LA Galaxy debut on March 31 to make his presence felt — scoring from nearly midfield in the first match versus the club’s new intercity rival, LAFC. He later scored the game-winning goal in added time, finishing off the club’s 4-3 comeback.

The spotlight is nothing new for the celebrated Swedish superstar, whether it has come via his prolific goal scoring at top European clubs Manchester United or Paris Saint-Germain, or his equally large personality. Zlatan, 37, often refers to himself in the third person, and he celebrated his transfer to the Galaxy in March with a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times that said simply, “Dear Los Angeles, you’re welcome.”

As the MLS regular season winds down and the Galaxy fight for a spot in the playoffs, there’s no doubting that Zlatan has provided plenty of big moments on and off the pitch.

“We obviously knew when we talked about signing him how big of a star he was throughout the world, and that when he came here, he would create a lot of energy and media attention — but we still didn’t fully realize how big he is,” said Brendan Hannan, Galaxy vice president of marketing, communications and digital. “While there have been a lot of big players in the league, I think Zlatan is the biggest player since David Beckham from a marketing standpoint.”

Thanks in large part to Zlatan, who ranked second in MLS with 21 goals through Oct. 15, the Galaxy this year have set club records in sponsorship revenue, season-ticket renewal percentage and gross ticketing revenue — the latter previously set in 2008, Beckham’s debut season.

Zlatan’s popularity has been felt across MLS, with all 15 of the club’s away matches selling out since his arrival, two of which — the Chicago Fire on April 14 and Real Salt Lake on Sept. 1 — featured single-game club attendance records at those teams’ respective stadiums. Zlatan also has the top-selling jersey in MLS this year, and any sort of social and digital content featuring him goes viral.

Mainstream media has taken notice too, with Zlatan appearing on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” “The Late Late Show with James Corden” and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” rare air for an active MLS player. He stars in his own “This is SportsCenter” commercial, and he has been a frequent guest on sports talk shows ranging from “The Dan Patrick Show” to “The Dan Le Batard Show.”

“He has incredible talent on the field, and combines it with his charisma off it,” said Dan Courtemanche, MLS executive vice president of communications. “When he’s on television, you’re always on the edge of your seat waiting to see what’s next.”