Luis Figo calls for Gianni Infantino to resign as FIFA president after 'deceitful' World Cup proposal - 'He has lied, deceived'
By Leon Imber
Published 05/08/2026 at 16:49 GMT+1
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Former Ballon d'Or winner Luis Figo has called for Gianni Infantino to resign as FIFA president. Infantino has come under immense scrutiny amid several controversial incidents during the 2026 World Cup and his post-tournament plans to sell a stake in a new FIFA subsidiary to private investors.
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Video credit: SNTV
Several governing bodies, including UEFA - where Figo has worked as a football advisor for nearly nine years - publicly opposed Infantino's plans to create a new $20 billion entity called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) which would control events like the World Cup, and sell a 21% stake of it for $4.2bn (ÂŁ3.1bn) to outside investment.
The proposal put forward by Infantino offered payments of up to $40 million (ÂŁ30m) to FIFA's member associations if they were to endorse the FFE creation and part-sale.
However, Infantino and FIFA withdrew the plans after significant backlash, which included opposition from UEFA (Europe's governing body), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean confederation) and AFC (Asian confederation).
On Saturday, UEFA said Infantino's leadership had "not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family", having previously said European nations would boycott FIFA events while the plans remained in place.
And on Wednesday, Figo followed up with his own calls for Infantino to step down.
"I could write 10,000 words on the problems at FIFA. But the solution needs only three: Infantino must go," Figo said in the Daily 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."
Figo, who appeared over 200 times for Real Madrid and Barcelona during his playing career, added: "Infantino has debased the office of FIFA President 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 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 [United States president Donald Trump].
"It is too late to save his dignity but it is not too late to save football. He should go. Now."
Reports said Infantino called for a crisis meeting with fellow members of FIFA's leadership team in Morocco on Wednesday.
That came after two senior FIFA staff - secretary general Mattias Grafstrom and CEO Kevin Lamour - voiced their opposition to the plans, while Jordanian Football Association president Prince Ali accused Infantino of "blackmail" in a social media post.
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Several national associations, including Wales and Serbia, have withdrawn their support for Infantino at the next presidential election, and the English Football Association (FA) are reportedly set to follow suit.
Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, FIFA’s chief of global football development, also distanced himself from the FFE plans and said its withdrawal was "absolutely necessary".
Infantino had already come under scrutiny during this summer's World Cup, particularly following the suspension of the one-match ban given to U.S. forward Folarin Balogun, after he was shown a red card in the round-of-32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
U.S. president Trump confirmed in the days after that he had been in contact with Infantino and requested a review of the ban. Balogun subsequently played in the last-16 defeat to Belgium.
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