Soccer legend Luis Figo has publicly declared that embattled FIFA President Gianni Infantino must go, adding to mounting pressure on the sport’s top administrator as he holds a crisis meeting with senior FIFA officials Wednesday, following his decision to abandon a highly contentious plan to sell private stakes in the World Cup and other major tournaments.
In an op-ed published by the Daily Mail, Figo, who won four La Liga titles, a Champions League trophy and the Ballon d’Or over the course of his career, described Infantino’s conduct as the lowest, most deceitful and self-serving behavior he has ever witnessed.
The former Portuguese international wrote that anyone willing to push through such sweeping changes purely to enrich themselves and their allies belongs to the game’s past, not its future, adding that while he could write thousands of words detailing FIFA’s problems, the solution boils down to just three: Infantino must go.
The controversy erupted last week after Infantino and FIFA proposed creating a separate entity, including private investors, to control the commercial and operational rights to the World Cup. The backlash was swift and widespread, drawing criticism from fans as well as continental and national football governing bodies, including UEFA, which argued that the soul and governance of football are not assets meant to be traded.
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The pressure ultimately forced Infantino to reverse course, and one of his senior advisers, Carlos Cordeiro, resigned in protest last week.
The opposition hasn’t been universal, however. While governing bodies representing Europe, Asia, and North and Central America all criticized the plan, the Confederation of African Football has so far declined to take a formal position, and five prominent African football administrators have voiced support for Infantino, reflecting African football’s greater reliance on FIFA-distributed funding compared to other regions.
Figo wrote that Infantino has debased the very office he once promised to elevate, accusing him of lying, deceiving, and attempting to enrich himself at the expense of the sport he’s meant to serve. CNN has reached out to FIFA for comment; Infantino has not publicly responded to allegations of corruption.
FIFA had previously said that proceeds from the investment plan would be reinvested back into the sport. Figo rejected that justification, calling the plan fundamentally flawed, arguing it lacked transparency about the steep returns private equity investors typically demand, and criticizing it for failing to acknowledge that once a share of the World Cup is sold, it’s gone permanently, stripping future generations of ownership over the tournament.
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The scale of the backlash marks a striking reversal for Infantino, who just weeks earlier was overseeing a successful World Cup and had reportedly secured pledged letters of support for his reelection bid from roughly 200 of FIFA’s 211 member federations.
Today I join others from across our game and call for Gianni Infantino to resign as FIFA President.
Infantino has debased the office that he promised to elevate. He has lied, deceived and tried to feather his own nest at the expense of the game he is supposed to serve.
He has…
— Luís Figo (@LuisFigo) August 5, 2026
