Robbie Williams’ Sparkly Tracksuit Sparks Sopranos Comparisons

' sparkly World Cup look drew comparisons to one of TV's most iconic characters, after he took to the stage for the final's closing ceremony on Sunday.

The singer was among a star-studded lineup who performed in the final at New York's MetLife Stadium, with later crowned World Champions after 1-0 victory over Argentina.

Robbie took to the stage for the performance in a sparkly blue tracksuit adorned with diamantes, and the outfit quickly sparked reaction online.

One user noted the look was eerily similar to the tracksuit worn by mobster Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri in the series The Sopranos, which aired from 1999 to 2007.

Posting a snap of the singer, the post was captioned: 'Robbie Williams is in his Paulie from The Sopranos era.' 

Paulie was one of Tony Soprano's henchmen on the show, and later became a captain in the DiMeo family in his quest for approval from family head Tony.

Known for his slicked-back wings, gold chains, and relentless one-liners, he was played by Tony Sirico, who died in 2022 after being diagnosed with dementia several years earlier.

Robbie took to the stage alongside Laura and Nicole Scherzinger, in a closing ceremony that left many viewers baffled.

The decision to add such a display, and a halftime show, had already proven divisive, and viewers quickly made their feelings known after it took place.

A bevy of Hollywood's finest had been billed as performers with Tom Cruise headlining the event, designed to pay tribute to all of the competing 48 nations from the tournament.

However, fans anxious to see the Hollywood icon, 64, were made to wait for almost 90 minutes as they had to endure a bizarre performance from YouTuber IShowSpeed in the buildup to kickoff.

Cruise finally made his long-awaited appearance less than 10 minutes before the teams walked out onto the pitch. FIFA reserved the actor for the grand finale of the ceremony with Cruise reflecting on the tournament, which has been the biggest in World Cup history.

Fans were left baffled by the address, writing on X: 'I'm disappointed Tom Cruise did not helicopter in for his Ted talk. FIFA missed an opportunity to collaborate with a chopper company;'

'About as inspiring as watching your cat get run over;

'Such an underwhelming closing ceremony. Zero creativity just artists singing;'

'The lip syncing for these closing ceremony performances is horrific;'

'Imagine telling someone a few years ago that ishowspeed is gonna perform at the world cup;'

'Worst closing ceremony.. obviously low budget;'

'The World Cup closing show was terrible - lousy production, just like the opening ceremony.'

The criticism continued with the controversial halftime show, where the likes of Madonna, Justin Bieber, Shakira and the Muppets all performed under one roof.

Celebrities were left divided over FIFA's decision to add a halftime show to the biggest game in global football.

Wayne joked his favourite part of the show was 'when it finished' as he and Gabby Logan discussed the bizarre line-up of musicians.

Meanwhile Liam Gallagher savaged 'This is like a bad trip', before adding: 'It's a good job I've got my spiritual socks on or that halftime entertainment could have tipped me over the edge'.