Luís Figo demands Gianni Infantino quit after World Cup sale plan collapses
Luís Figo has told Fifa president Gianni Infantino to resign after Infantino abandoned a proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup, writing his call in the Daily Mail on 5 August 2026. Figo labelled the plan “the lowest, most deceitful and cravenly self-interested behaviour I have ever witnessed.”
Figo, the former Barcelona and Real Madrid forward who won 127 caps for Portugal and has served as a football adviser to Uefa since 2017, accused Infantino of having “debased the office of Fifa president that he promised to elevate” since taking over in 2016. He argued the president had acted in his own interest rather than in the interests of the game.
Infantino was forced to withdraw the controversial private-equity proposal after a fierce backlash led by Uefa and is now reported to be fighting for his future. The dispute over the proposal has prompted intense scrutiny of Fifa’s decision-making.
On Tuesday, the Jordan Football Association president, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, accused Fifa of blackmail, alleging the organisation threatened to withhold financial assistance from his federation if it refused to back Infantino’s re-election bid. Prince Ali’s charge added to the public dissent aimed at the Fifa leadership.
Arsène Wenger, Fifa’s chief of global football development and a former Arsenal manager, issued a statement distancing himself from the plan and saying the decision to withdraw it was “absolutely necessary and beyond question.”
Writing in the Daily Mail, Figo said: "I could write 10,000 words on the problems at Fifa. But the solution needs only three: Infantino must go," and set out broader criticisms of the president’s conduct and the loss of support within football.
Figo cited a lack of transparency around the private-equity deal, saying it was reported to have included an increase in Infantino’s salary to $30m a year, and added: "It’s not honest when you fail to mention that, after you have delivered the head of the World Cup on a platter to your mates in DC, they are going to give you a job worth five times your current salary." He also listed what he called a "litany of abuses" from suspending and reversing disciplinary decisions to breaking rules over a half-time show.
Infantino called an emergency meeting of Fifa staff on Wednesday as pressure mounted, and Figo concluded his intervention with the line: "He should go. Now."