Luis Figo: ‘Deceitful and cravenly self-interested’ Infantino must quit Fifa now
Fifa president Gianni Infantino has come under fire from another high-profile figure after Portugal great Luis Figo joined calls for him to quit without further delay.
Infantino is clinging to his job despite senior Fifa figures condemning his plan to sell stakes in a new commercial vehicle that would manage the World Cup to private investors.
But Figo, who enjoyed a celebrated career with Portugal, Real Madrid and Barcelona, has urged him to fall on his sword in a scathing takedown.
“I could write 10,000 words on the problems at Fifa. But the solution needs only three: Infantino must go,” he wrote in the Mail.
“I have loved football all my life. I was a professional player for 20 years. And believe me, I have met some rogues in my time in the game.
“But what I have seen exposed in the last 10 days is the lowest, most deceitful and cravenly self-interested behaviour I have ever witnessed.
“The man who would do that – the man who would try to force through such major changes just to enrich himself and his friends – is a relic of the game’s past and should have no part in its future.”
Infantino is expected to hold crisis talks with his Fifa inner circle in Morocco this afternoon as he attempts to manage the crisis that has engulfed him since his plans leaked last week.
Figo: Infantino has debased the office of Fifa president
He has defended the proposal by saying it would increase financial distributions for all member nations but shelved it at the weekend.
Critics have accused him of trying to rush through a deal that could land him a plum new role and enrich investors including Joshua Kushner, part of Donald Trump’s extended family.
The plan has been disowned by Infantino’s senior advisor, chief operating officer, general secretary and chief of global football development Arsene Wenger.
“Infantino has debased the office of Fifa President that he promised to elevate,” added Figo, who ran for office in 2015 and has been a Uefa football advisor since 2017.
“He has lied, deceived and tried to feather his own nest at the expense of the game he is supposed to serve.
“He has lost the support of his senior staff, his closest advisers, the vast majority of people who devote their lives to this sport and even, it would seem, the Fifa Peace Prize winner.
“It is too late to save his dignity but it is not too late to save football. He should go. Now.”