Ibrahimovic on Paredes in the final brawl: "I would have headbutted him and got sent off"
Zlatan was blunt: he said he would have headbutted Paredes had he been on the pitch during the Spain vs Argentina final. FIFA has already opened an investigation.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic watched the chaos unfold on the pitch at MetLife Stadium and couldn't keep quiet. Working as a pundit at the World Cup, the Swede went straight for the jugular when it came to Leandro Paredes — one of the central figures in the all-out brawl that engulfed the field moments after the final whistle of the Spain vs Argentina decider.
"Paredes should be grateful there wasn't a player like me on the pitch. If I had been there, I would have headbutted him and got sent off," Ibra fired on Fox Sports.
The scene that sparked the comment was chaotic. It all started when Molina shoved Rodri — who had been substituted and came sprinting on to celebrate. The Spaniard got up to confront him, Borja Iglesias and Eric García piled in on Molina, and the trouble spread fast. Paredes charged toward the Spanish players, shoved Eric García, and even grabbed Gavi by the neck in an attempt to throw him to the ground. Thiago Almada, who had come off the Argentine bench, also waded into the argument. Things only cooled down when Walter Samuel, from Argentina's coaching staff, and other players who had stayed out of the melee stepped in to separate them.
Ibrahimovic didn't spare the Spanish players either. "I don't know what the Spanish players were doing. They just stand there watching while a player attacks a teammate," the former striker said.
FIFA has opened an investigation against Argentina following the incidents. With Golmetria's model giving Spain a 75% chance of the title and Argentina just 7%, the defeat already stung — the brawl at the final whistle turned the night into something far harder to swallow for the Argentines.
Now the world waits to see who will pay the price when the federation's investigation concludes.