Former Real Madrid and Barcelona great Luis Figo has urged Gianni Infantino to resign, describing the FIFA president’s conduct as deceitful as criticism of his leadership intensifies.
Infantino is attempting to preserve his position after widespread anger over a proposal to sell part of the World Cup to private investors.
The 56-year-old had sought to transfer a 20 per cent share in the tournament to private equity groups through FIFA Forward Enterprise.
That proposal triggered a wave of opposition and was rejected by three continental confederations, leaving Infantino with little choice but to abandon the controversial plan.
Seeking to rebuild support, the FIFA president held emergency discussions with fellow directors in Morocco on Wednesday.
Figo, however, added to the pressure by condemning the proposal and calling for Infantino to leave his post.
“I could spend 10,000 words detailing FIFA’s problems, but the answer can be expressed in three: Infantino must go,” Figo wrote on Wednesday.
The former Portugal forward said his lifelong love of football and two decades as a professional player had exposed him to many unsavoury figures within the sport.
But he claimed nothing he had previously witnessed compared with the “lowest, most deceitful and cravenly self-interested behaviour” revealed over the past 10 days.
Figo argued that anyone attempting to impose such sweeping changes in order to benefit himself and his associates belonged to football’s past and should have no role in shaping its future.
Infantino had defended the scheme by insisting that it would generate greater income for every FIFA member association.
His decision to push the arrangement forward without consulting football associations worldwide, combined with fears that the World Cup could eventually be staged every two years rather than every four, provoked an angry response.
A number of senior FIFA figures, among them former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, have also criticised Infantino’s conduct.
Figo, who withdrew from the 2015 election to become FIFA president, believes Infantino should resign now instead of remaining in office until his expected bid for re-election next year.
“Infantino has diminished the authority of the FIFA presidency he pledged to strengthen,” Figo said, pointing to the numerous honours he collected during an illustrious playing career.
He accused the FIFA chief of lying, misleading people and attempting to secure personal benefits at the expense of the sport he is meant to represent.
The 53-year-old also claimed that Infantino had lost the backing of senior employees, close advisers and most of the people who dedicate their working lives to football — and perhaps even that of US president Donald Trump, the recipient of the FIFA Peace Prize.
Figo concluded that Infantino’s dignity could no longer be rescued, but football still could be. His message was unequivocal: the FIFA president should leave immediately.
