Luis Figo calls for Gianni Infantino to leave FIFA over ‘selfish’ World Cup plan

Luis Figo has launched a fierce attack on FIFA president Gianni Infantino, calling for him to resign and accusing him of putting personal and private interests ahead of the future of football.

The Portugal great made the claims in an article for the British newspaper the Daily Mail on Wednesday, arguing that the proposed sale of stakes in the World Cup to investors was neither transparent nor beneficial to the game.

“I could write 10,000 words about FIFA’s problems. But the solution takes only three: Infantino must go,” Figo wrote.

Figo, who played professionally for 20 years and represented both Barcelona and Real Madrid, said he had encountered “some conmen” during his career but described the events of the previous 10 days as the worst conduct he had seen in football.

“I have loved football all my life. I was a professional player for 20 years. And believe me, I met some crooks in my career in the game… but what I have seen unfolding over the past 10 days is the most depraved, deceitful and cowardly selfish behaviour I have ever witnessed,” he said.

He accused Infantino of seeking major changes to enrich himself and his associates, saying such behaviour belonged to football’s past rather than its future.

“The man doing this – the man trying to force through such huge changes simply to enrich himself and his friends – is a relic of the game’s past, and should have no role in its future,” Figo wrote.

He questioned why FIFA members had not been informed about the plan when they were gathered together before the World Cup final, if the proposal was as strong as its supporters claimed.

“If the idea is so good, why didn’t you tell your members when they were all together in the same room before the World Cup final? If the plan is so strong and robust, why didn’t you tell your members about the risks as well as what you describe as the benefits?” he wrote.

Figo also criticised Infantino for allegedly failing to disclose that the plan could eventually lead to him receiving a job worth $30m (£23.5m) a year.

“If the idea is so obvious and a no-brainer, why weren’t you honest about the fact it would eventually give you a job paying $30m a year? But none of that happened. Because it isn’t a good idea,” he said.

“It isn’t robust when you fail to be transparent about the crushing returns that private capital always seeks, and it isn’t bold when you fail to explain that once you sell your stake, it is gone forever, and you have denied your successors ownership of the World Cup.”

He added: “And it isn’t honest when you fail to mention that after you have handed the top of the World Cup on a golden plate to your friends in Washington, they will give you a job worth five times your current salary.”

Figo linked his criticism to a series of controversies surrounding the 2026 World Cup, claiming that a pattern of decisions had damaged football’s reputation.

“None of this is surprising if you look at the string of abuses he has inflicted on football’s reputation; from suspending and reversing disciplinary decisions, to breaking the laws of the game because of a half-time show, nothing stands in the way of pleasing his friends,” he wrote.

He also referred to comments by Jordan Football Association president Prince Ali, which he said highlighted “the gang-like behaviour of Infantino’s FIFA”. Figo accused FIFA of obstructing and financially pressuring the Jordan Football Association in order to secure a letter of support for Infantino’s candidacy and allow what he called “this era of appalling selfishness” to continue.

Figo concluded by comparing the proposal with the European Super League, saying both plans had been exposed by the media before their supporters could organise their public messaging.

“This plan – like the Super League before it – exploded because the media exposed all its twists and deceptions before its advocates could get their messages in order. And thank goodness it exploded,” he wrote.