Zlatan Ibrahimovic makes shock Fox exit announcement in final seconds of World Cup live TV broadcast

ZLATAN Ibrahimovic made a shock Fox exit announcement in the final seconds of their World Cup final broadcast. Ibrahimovic, 44, has been a very popular addition to Fox’s coverage of the entire tournament. Zlatan Ibrahimovic made the shock announcement in the final seconds of the broadcast Credit: X/ @Fo He has formed a core part of Fox’s coverage of the 2026 World Cup Credit: Getty So much so, Fox wanted to bring him back alongside anchor Rebecca Lowe and co-analysts Thierry Henry and Alexi Lalas for the 2030 World Cup. However, the Swedish soccer legend has ruled himself out of any further broadcasting jobs with a definitive statement live on tv. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! “I’ve been talking a lot the last one and a half months, so I want to take this moment to say, Alexi, thankyou, Thierry, thankyou, Rebecca, thankyou,” he began. “You made it easy for me, I hope America you enjoyed it as much as I did,” he said after thanking Fox and the whole production crew. “This is also my farewell to the studio, this was the first and last time for me, so thankyou,” he then declared in a shock statement. It came as a surprise to Lowe and likely the rest of the broadcast crew as she responded, “It is?” The moment summed up what was an emotional goodbye for all after a World Cup to remember on Fox’s coverage. Anchor Rebecca Lowe was fighting back tears at the end having done a tremendous job all summer long. Most read in Sport Fox’s coverage in the early stages was dominated by tension between Ibrahimovic and Lalas. The two are clearly quite outspoken figures with strong opinions that clashed a fair amount. Lowe made clear in an interview, however, that there was an underlying respect between the pair despite all the drama. ‘These stories do make me laugh and we do laugh about them. We’re like, ‘another one?’ And it is getting a little out of hand,” she had said to talkSPORT. “‘We are going through every newspaper now. Like, okay guys, maybe let’s pivot and write about something else, that would be good. The football, maybe?” On that very point, the soccer came to its ultimate conclusion when Spain beat Argentina in the World Cup final 1-0 to lift the game’s ultimate prize. Who they will get to replace Ibrahimovic for the 2030 World Cup remains unclear, as does whether they will even get the rights. But should they do so, there will undoubtedly be a strong effort to get Lowe, Henry and Lalas back in the studio. Comment now