Zlatan Ibrahimovic, leader of the free world.

Fresh off a man-of-the-match performance against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday, the self-assured Swede claimed he would have had an even bigger impact on the United States had he made the switch to MLS sooner.

"They're lucky I didn't come 10 years ago," he told reporters, "because I would be the president today."

Ibrahimovic has certainly led the way on the pitch in recent weeks, scoring nine goals in his past eight starts for the LA Galaxy. He assisted the Galaxy's opening goal in Philadelphia with a wonderful defense-splitting pass and curled in the winner en route to a 3-1 victory.

"He's a world-class striker," Union coach Jim Curtin said. "He's one of the best players our league's ever seen and one of the best strikers our game's ever had."

Ibrahimovic's cheeky persona has also earned him spots on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and "The Late Late Show with James Corden," where he played the fortune teller Zoltar from the 1988 film "Big."