Ballon d’Or Winning Legend Puts Gianni Infantino on Blast in Withering Rant

Gianni Infantino’s plan to gain the support of a famous former player has spectacularly backfired, with the Real Madrid legend Luís Figo delivering a nut-and-bolt dismantling of the FIFA president, whose recent behavior he described “the lowest, most deceitful and cravenly self-interested” he’s ever had the displeasure of suffering through.

Infantino has been fighting a losing battle in the days since announcing his ultimately doomed scheme to sell off stakes in the commercial rights of FIFA’s most valuable tournaments, namely the World Cup and Club World Cup.

In the face of fierce backlash, the plan was abandoned as hurriedly as it had first been unveiled, yet that hasn’t stopped the cross-continental push to have Infantino dethroned as FIFA president. The nebulous figure of UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, had been leading that charge but now the movement has been given a recognizable figurehead in the form of the 2000 Ballon d’Or winner.

“I could write 10,000 words on the problems at FIFA,” Figo penned in an open letter distributed by the Daily Mail. “But the solution needs only three: Infantino must go.”

“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 retired Portugal international continued. “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.”

Figo: Infantino Has Lied

Gianni Infantino (left) and Luís Figo. — Gianni Infantino (left) has surrounded himself with FIFA legends. | Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images

“If the scheme was a no-brainer,” Figo raged on, “why not be honest about the fact that it was going to give you a $30 million-a-year job at the end of it?”

This particular line is plucked from the original Times article which claimed that Infantino was lining himself up for a commissioner role at the head of the subsidiary company in control of the World Cup. FIFA has denied this was ever discussed.

World soccer’s governing body did confirm that $4.2 billion worth of shares in the company would be sold to private investors, namely the Thrive Eternal fund founded by Josh Kushner, the brother of U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.

Figo took issue with the $5 billion in FIFA’s reserves which, as he pointed out, could have paid for all the shares in this “grubby, underhand plot.”

"The World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product... The World Cup is not for sale." pic.twitter.com/KuE75HtARS
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) July 30, 2026

“None of this comes as a surprise when you consider the litany of abuses he has inflicted on football’s reputation,” Figo continued, “from suspending and reversing disciplinary decisions to breaking the laws of the game over a halftime show, nothing gets in the way of pleasing his friends.”

During his desperate scramble for some support, Infantino dispensed his lieutenants to try and persuade the stable of ‘FIFA Legends’ to publicly back the Swiss executive. “They would love a famous former player to come out in support of Infantino,” one source told The Times, “but it appears he is too toxic.” Figo’s diatribe has colored him in an even more unfavorable light.

“Infantino has debased the office of FIFA president that he promised to elevate,” the former winger concluded. “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.”

Infantino Stages ‘Crisis Meeting’ Amid Blackmail Accusations

The pressure has never been higher on Gianni Infantino. | TF-Images/Getty Images

Former FIFA vice president and current Jordan soccer association president Prince Ali bin Al Hussein sensationally claimed that he had been “blackmailed” to support Infantino during the World Cup.

In an explosive X post on Tuesday, Prince Ali explained: “We have been waiting for reward money for our players since December for the Arab Cup in Qatar, which is a FIFA event. The money our team should receive for having reached the final has not been delivered yet, while at the same time FIFA brags about how many billions they have in reserve.”

“FIFA has been refusing to help us on any of these or other matters,” he continued, “until it was verbally communicated to me during the World Cup that if I endorsed Infantino it would go a long way to helping our FA out.

“We pride ourselves in Jordan in upholding ethical values. We did not endorse him before and certainly will not now. But the whole situation amounts to blackmail and we refuse to give in to that.”

As the walls continue to close in on him, Infantino has reportedly summoned his remaining advisors to Morocco for what has widely been described as a “crisis meeting.” The scrambling official is not entirely devoid of support just yet, several Asian associations have notably supported his continued leadership, while the confederation of African nations didn’t even denounce the original plan.

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