MLS

Zlatan Ibrahimovic doesn't think he became a legend overnight in Los Angeles after his stellar MLS debut -- telling TMZ Sports, "I was BORN a legend."

And he meant it!

Zlatan is an international superstar who just signed with the L.A. Galaxy and scored 2 insane goals in his debut this past Saturday ... including a rocket from 40 yards out.

The Swedish-born striker was leaving Mastro's Steakhouse in Bev Hills with his family where he told us he's enjoying his time in L.A. and hopes to lead his team to an MLS title -- explaining, "Train hard, work hard and hopefully!"

No pressure ...

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's move to the L.A. Galaxy is gonna have a MAJOR impact on soccer in the U.S. ... so says ex-Galaxy star Kyle Martino, who tells TMZ Sports Ibra's presence alone is gonna be a game changer.

Martino -- who was on the Galaxy when they signed some dude named David Beckham -- says despite being 36, Ibra's gonna be a "top-quality talent" for the MLS.

K.M. says even if fans don't like his "charming narcissism," they're gonna end up tuning in to watch him 'cause he's THAT good of a player.

Jermaine Jones, one of Team USA soccer's biggest stars, says he's done ballin' in America (unless it's with the USMNT) ... telling TMZ Sports he wants to finish his career in Europe!

Backstory -- JJ grew up in the U.S. and Germany ... but played his best ball in Bundesliga, one of Europe's top leagues.

His MLS stint with the L.A. Galaxy didn't go nearly as well ... so Jermaine says he wants to pull a reverse David Beckham and go back to where the "best soccer" is at.

Before the 36-year-old tries to turn back the clock, Jones says he's got some other business to attend to -- including getting certified to coach!!

As for where JJ wants to hold the clipboard once he retires ... sounds like he's keeping his options open.

U.S. soccer legend Alexi Lalas loves the idea of Zlatan Ibrahimović coming to play stateside ... but he's warning the league -- DON'T GET SCREWED ON THE PRICE!

Remember, Lalas was the GM of the L.A. Galaxy when the team (and the league) signed a 31-year-old David Beckham to a deal in 2007 that ultimately paid him $255 million!!!

Now, with rumors 36-year-old Zlatan is thinking of making a similar move -- we had to ask Lalas how he would handle the situation.

"If Zlatan wants to come, if he doesn't cost too much money ... then I think it's something the Galaxy and MLS have to do. I think it would be wonderful on and off the field. He's worth the price of admission."

"He's a character on and off the field," Lalas added.

It's true -- Zlatan's got his own cologne, underwear line ... and once performed on a song that hit the Swedish music charts.

Enjoy ...

Cristiano Ronaldo is a certified G -- so says Alexi Lalas ... who's slamming the soccer superstar's "pretty boy" rep after witnessing his badassery this past weekend.

"Anytime there's an athlete that bleeds and plays through it ... they get a little street cred," Alexi told TMZ Sports.

You remember the carnage -- Ronaldo dove in for the header in Real Madrid's match against Deportivo ... scoring a goal, but taking a cleat to the dome in the process.

The collision left Cristiano a bloody mess ... and scrambling for a mirror to check on his moneymaker.

A lot of fans were poking fun at Ronaldo for the mirror-check, but Lalas says CR7 completing the header says way more about him than anything else.

Is Demi Lovato in the "friend zone" with Neymar?

The singer and the soccer superstar went for a dinner date in London on Tuesday -- after Neymar played for Team Brazil in an international friendly against England.

Oh, there was a 3rd person at the dinner as well ... smokin' hot TV host Layla Anna-Lee.

But despite the fact Neymar and Demi look GREAT together, the soccer stud is preemptively striking against dating rumors ... posting Instagram photos with the caption, "My friends girls."

BOOOOO!!!!

A heated altercation between Jozy Altidore and his ex-USMNT teammate Sacha Kljestan escalated into a full-blown war during halftime of an MLS game this weekend -- with yelling and cussing and police ... and it was all caught on video.

It all went down at halftime during Sunday's match between Jozy's Toronto FC and Sacha's NY Red Bulls, where things were already chippy in the 1st half.

Jozy claims Sacha tried to "pull up on me while my back was turned" -- and TFC coach Greg Vanney says he was "ambushed" by 5 or 6 New York Red Bulls players in total.

Sacha's got a different take -- claiming Jozy's the one who started the fight by shoving him into a wall.

Either way, the video is crazy -- you can see players like Michael Bradley trying to keep the peace as cops and stadium security rush in to maintain order.

Both Jozy and Sacha were ejected from the game. The Red Bulls ultimately won the game 1-0.

Alex Morgan was "highly impaired" and yelling at Disney staffers in front of guests when she was thrown out of Epcot Center on Sunday ... this according to the incident report obtained by TMZ Sports.

We broke the story, Morgan, along with several MLS soccer players, was booted from the park after an incident at one of the bars on the premises.

Now, it seems Morgan's entire group was HAMMERED -- with Morgan allegedly bragging that she knows the Orlando SWAT team in an effort to pressure officers to let her go.

The report, filed by the Orange County Sheriff's Office, says they were initially called to the U.K. pub around 8:20 PM after MLS player Giles Barnes cut in front of another patron in line and got into a verbal argument.

The report notes Morgan's entire group was "impaired and verbally aggressive."'

Giles was escorted out of the pub and told not to come back.

As deputies were escorting Barnes out of the park, officers were called about the other members of the group making a scene.

"As we passed Space Ship Earth, I observed several people were being escorted to the front. They were all being very loud and belligerent towards staff around guests."

The deputy noted that Morgan was especially out of control -- "yelling, screaming and taking video and possibly pictures."

"She appeared to be highly impaired. Deputy Johnson heard Ms. Morgan make a loud verbal statement that she knows the Orlando SWAT team."

Team USA soccer star Alex Morgan was told by police to leave Disney World in Florida on Sunday after an incident at a bar in Epcot Center, TMZ Sports has learned.

Morgan was part of a group that included several MLS stars including Giles Barnes and Donny Toia, who were also 86'd from the park.

We're working on details from the cops -- but witnesses tell us the group had been partying at a pub in the U.K. section of Epcot Center when things got rowdy inside.

Our witnesses say Morgan and her group were arguing with another group -- and ultimately the Orange County Sheriff's Dept. got involved and told everyone to leave.

In total, 4 people were booted -- including Donny's wife, Courtney.

The OCSD tells TMZ Sports, "These are the individuals that were trespassed from Disney on Oct. 1st."

The group had posted a photo outside a Disney World restaurant earlier that day.

Kneeling for the national anthem ain't exactly an epidemic ... but those protests got no place on Team USA -- so says American soccer legend Alexi Lalas.

We got Lalas at LAX ... and the former USMNT star told TMZ Sports where he stood on the whole athletes-taking-a-knee debate.

"When you're representing your country for the national team ... you should be required to stand."

But to be clear -- "There's a difference between representing your country in the international game and representing your club."

Basically, Alexi doesn't have Donald Trump-level disgust with the NFL movement ... but he's takin' a stand when it comes to reppin' the red, white and blue.

Team USA's Jermaine Jones feels the same ... and doesn't think it's gonna happen in the MLS either.

TMZ Sports has obtained the Cyle Larin DUI arrest video -- which shows the soccer star speeding down an Orlando street on the wrong side of the road. It's a miracle no one was hurt.

Larin -- the #1 overall pick in the 2015 MLS Draft -- was arrested around 2:30 AM early Thursday morning after an officer spotted him.

In the video, 22-year-old Larin straight LIES about his sobriety -- initially claiming he hadn't had a drink all night. The officer says the odor of booze is obvious and Larin changes his story.

Larin also tried to play the "I'm Not From Here" card -- saying he's from Toronto and he didn't know which side of the road to drive on.

The officer calls BS and places him under arrest.

Larin tells the officer he plays for the Orlando City pro soccer team -- and says the team employs cops to get players out of DUI trouble.

Once again, the officer isn't fazed.

Larin was eventually taken to a nearby station where he was booked for DUI.

He's one of the BEST goalkeepers in the world ... and Chelsea superstar Thibaut Courtois says he's considering moving to the U.S. and playing in the MLS one day.

The 24-year-old superstar was at a Hublot event in L.A. Thursday night -- when we asked if he would ever consider following in the footsteps of stars like David Beckham and Robbie Keane who migrated from the Premiere League to the MLS.

"Yeah, I might retire here," Courtois said ... "It's nice to have an experience abroad of Europe and if I would choose a country to do that it would be here."

There's more with Thibaut, we also ask the Belgian-born athlete:

-- Is your daughter going to play soccer?

-- What's your favorite Belgian beer?

-- Who's the best player to ever score on you?

-- Can the U.S. ever win a World Cup?

Anyone with dreams of watching 38-year-old Chad Ochocinco try his hand at the OTHER football is in for a rude awakening ... 'cause the ex-NFLer says there is NO WAY he'd ever try his hand on the pitch.

We got Chad leaving a restaurant in L.A. when we asked the soccer addict if he had any plans to take his athleticism to the MLS now that it looks like he's done in the NFL.

Not a crazy question ... Ocho plays a lot of pick up soccer in his off time ... and looks pretty good out there when he's doing it ... not to mention the whole "being a world class athlete thing."

Check out the clip ... Chad says it's never going to happen ... but does give us a hint at what his celebration dance would look like if he ever scored a professional goal.

One package to rule them all ... and that package belongs to David Beckham ... so says Tommy Hilfiger who tells TMZ Sports the soccer icon is the GREATEST male undie model of all time.

This clip is actually pretty great ... it starts with our photog asking Tommy for a modeling job -- and in what may be the nicest "Don't call us" moment of all time, Tommy sings Beckham's praises as the "Underwear model of the century."

The interesting part -- Beckham never modeled for Tommy ... in fact, DB only ever modeled for the competition (Armani, H&M).

So ... sorry Mark Wahlberg ... and Antonio Sabato Jr. ... and Mehcad Brooks -- but when it comes to Tommy's pick -- you guys just didn't measure up.

Say what you will about Louis Tomlinson, but the One Direction singer's got a serious pair of cojones for taking a stand on one of the biggest arguments in sports -- Messi vs. Ronaldo.

Louis -- who dabbles in pro soccer himself -- was leaving a tattoo shop in L.A. this weekend when we asked him ... who's the better player??! The pretty boy or the Atomic Flea?!

It's a raging controversy in the football world ... here are the cliff notes for the debate:

-- Ronaldo has 38 goals in '13/'14 play ... Messi has 27.
-- Messi outscored Ronaldo by 18 GOALS in the 2 seasons before that.
-- Messi has 13 more assists than Ronaldo over the past 3 seasons.

But ... Ronaldo is bigger where it counts -- his wallet.

According to Goal.com, Ronaldo's worth €148 million ... while Messi's only worth a puny €146 million.

Jennifer Lopez's ass went all "Fatal Attraction" in a tiny pair of tropical shorts ... shouting to the world: "I'm not gonna be ignored."

The 44-year-old mother of two flaunted her endless legs and famous cheeks while filming a music video with Pitbull and Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte in Ft. Lauderdale for the song "We Are One."

Or, in this case ... two.