Zlatan Ibrahimovic on United States soccer's pay-to-play model: 'it was pretty expensive'

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. — One of the best soccer players of his generation, former Swedish international Zlatan Ibrahimovic still believes that the United States model for player development should look and feel different. The now AC Milan executive said that playing soccer in the United States faces the unique challenge of being expensive to play.

Ibrahimovic made his comments as part of a media event at The Pingry School to promote AC Milan‘s tour of the United States. His most recent thoughts about American soccer echo similar comments he made while as a player for the LA Galaxy.

These new thoughts also come at a time when the United States is taking a hard look at the program given that the men’s national team crashed out of Copa America in the group stages.

Having spent two years in MLS, Ibrahimovic had an up-close look at the developmental system in the United States. Ibrahimovic was critical of the ‘pay-to-play’ system present throughout much of youth soccer, where players (or more aptly, their families) are expected to foot the bill to join a club.

This is in direct contrast with much of the rest of the world where organized soccer is not a commodity as much as it is a community.

“I had the experience when I was here that it was pretty expensive to put the kids in the academy or the football – you call it soccer – soccer teams,” Ibrahimovic said on Friday.

“In Europe, it is free to play the game – they have a small membership I think for insurance or whatever. But it’s not the same price as it was here.

“For me, football is for everybody you just put the ball in the middle and everybody plays, obviously. Then you have different levels, different structure, different way of doing things. If that is the key, I don’t know – listen, I’m not here. The game continues, the game gets better. What the key is? I don’t know. Football is for everybody because it is connecting everybody, it is the world’s biggest sport and everybody should be able to enjoy it.”

Ibrahimovic, who enjoyed two storied spells with AC Milan as a player, is now a senior advisor to the club. AC Milan finished second in the Serie A last year.

Oh, and Ibrahimovic knows a thing or two about player development. His son, Maximilian, just signed with AC Milan in mid-July.

The rising star is 17 years old.