Pressure continues to mount on FIFA president Gianni Infantino. In an article published by the Daily Mail and echoed on his X account, Portuguese football legend Luis Figo demanded his immediate departure, joining a growing chorus of football figures openly calling for his resignation.
« Today I join others from across our game and call for Gianni Infantino to resign as FIFA President, » wrote the former international, who played for Sporting, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan during his career. He accused the Swiss official of having « debased the office that he promised to elevate, » saying he « has lied, deceived and tried to feather his own nest at the expense of the game he is supposed to serve. »
The outburst follows the collapse of a controversial plan pushed by Infantino to open World Cup ownership to private investors through a structure dubbed the FIFA Forward Enterprise. The proposal triggered an uproar across football: several confederations, including UEFA, had threatened to boycott the tournament if the plan went ahead, and criticism emerged even from within FIFA itself. Facing this backlash, Infantino ultimately withdrew the project and issued an apology, while reaffirming his full support for the organization.
Figo went further in his accusations, claiming Infantino intended to secure, once his presidency ended, a position within the new structure paying $30 million a year — a claim disputed by FIFA but presented as established fact by the former player. « It is not honest when you forget to mention that having delivered the World Cup on a plate to your friends in Washington, they are going to give you a job paying five times your current salary, » he charged, calling the arrival of private investors unjustified given that FIFA holds $5 billion in reserves.
According to Figo, Infantino has lost the trust of those closest to him. « 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 [Donald Trump], » he wrote. The former player closed without mincing words: « It is too late to save his dignity but it is not too late to save football. He should go. Now. »
UEFA has also raised the prospect of legal action against Infantino over the plan, according to several sources close to the matter. FIFA’s president, who was in Morocco in early August for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, held emergency talks with federation officials in an attempt to defuse the crisis.
Notably, Figo had previously backed Infantino, including during his run for the FIFA presidency. That reversal underscores the scale of the distrust now surrounding the Swiss official, as the backlash spreads beyond institutional observers to reach some of his own longtime allies.