Tom Brady links up with Zlatan Ibrahimovic as NFL GOAT & Birmingham City shareholder is gifted personalised AC Milan shirt

Brady also threw one of the footballs that he is better associated with into the crowd, while bellowing “Forza Milan” into a microphone shortly before a Serie A fixture at San Siro got underway.

Ex-New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Brady is no stranger to soccer having become a shareholder in ambitious English club Birmingham City - with American owners in place at St Andrew’s.

He has paid regular visits to the West Midlands, figuring prominently in a documentary series produced by Amazon Prime, and is hoping to see the Blues reach the Premier League at some point in the not too distant future - getting one over on Wrexham’s Hollywood co-chairmen Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac in the process.

Brady is being backed to help bring more big names to Birmingham, with former Blues defender Stephen Carr telling GOAL recently: “I think that’s what they are aiming for. The stadium that they just released, you can see what they are building - that is for the Premier League, that’s not for the Football League. That has to be a Premier League stadium.

“I know there is all the other stuff with it, the NFL and everything, but it is being geared up now where they want to go. Very ambitious. But there is a limit to what you can spend, it’s as simple as that. You see it at Newcastle as well - the richest club in the world but they can’t go out and buy whoever they want. That’s where they need plans.

“They do need a good few players. If they stay in the Championship, consolidate and then build. They need players coming in. It’s what they can bring in, what they are restricted with and what they can spend. They have always had a good academy there, they produce some good young players. But you see with the stadium and everything, they are very ambitious.

“The stadium shows how much money they will be spending. That stadium is only worth something if you are in the Premier League, it’s not for the Championship - with the costs and all that. You see Tottenham’s stadium and what they spent, they spent a fortune, but they are in the Premier League. That’s a Premier League stadium, so hopefully they do it and get up. I think you will see spending. I think it will be controlled, it won’t be stupid, but you will see bigger names coming back to Birmingham.”

For now, Brady is enjoying sporting spectacles in Italy. He was presented with a Milan jersey sporting his iconic No.12 when rubbing shoulders with enigmatic former Rossoneri striker Ibrahimovic - a man who now fills a supervisory role with Serie A heavyweights.

Brady, who formed part of the 2026 World Cup draw in December as FIFA’s flagship event prepares to head to North America this summer, saw Milan held to a 1-1 draw by Como - with Rafael Leao cancelling out a first-half opener from Nico Paz. He saw fellow countryman Christian Pulisic take in an eight-minute appearance off the bench, with the USMNT star seeing his workload carefully managed after nursing unfortunate injuries this season.

Brady has also been spotted visiting some of Milan’s most exclusive shopping outlets while in the Italian city for Winter Olympics action. He was joined on that spending spree by youngest son Benjamin and daughter Vivian. Away from watching professional athletes compete for medals at the Milan-Cortina Games, Brady has been hitting the slopes himself as he enjoys a spot of skiing.