Virat Kohli is arguably the most popular cricketer on the planet, and is loved by a billion people in his own country. He even boasts 270 million followers on Instagram. However, one man who does not recognize him is legendary Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Filming a video with YouTube content creator ‘IShowSpeed’, Ibrahimovic could not recognize Virat Kohli, and admitted that he had not heard of him before either. Speed then referred to Kohli as the ‘GOAT’ (Greatest Of All Time) of cricket.

At first, Speed (real name Darren Jason Watkins Jr.) asked Ibrahimovic if he knew Virat Kohli. Hearing a no from Ibrahimovic, Speed proceeded to show him a picture of Kohli. However, much to Speed’s surprise, Ibrahimovic failed to recognize him.

“No. I’ve never seen cricket in my life. Not being disrespectful, but no,” said Ibrahimovic, when Speed showed him Kohli’s picture.

“Is he some kind of big player?” asked Ibrahimovic.

Watch: Zlatan Ibrahimovic fails to recognize Virat Kohli

“He’s the GOAT,” replies Speed. “He is the GOAT in a different aspect, man. You’ve got to learn the different GOATs in different aspects,” continued the 19-year-old YouTube sensation.

It is not a surprise that Ibrahimovic may not know Kohli, as cricket is not a widely-played sport in Sweden. The country ranks 55th in ICC’s T20I team rankings.

Ibrahimovic – who ranks 15th in the list of most goals scored in football history (561) – retired from football at the age of 41 last year. His last club was Italian giants AC Milan.

American YouTuber Speed, on the other hand, boasts more than 26 million subscribers on YouTube, and is popular for his love for Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. However, Speed is also a fan of Virat Kohli, and recently went to watch India vs Pakistan during the 2024 T20 World Cup at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.

Topics mentioned in this article