Luís Figo has called for the resignation of FIFA President Gianni Infantino, saying "it is too late to save his dignity but it is not too late to save football" and that "he should go now", becoming the first former former footballer to openly call for his resignation, but certainly not the first critical voice against Infantino, from outside and even within FIFA.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, the Portuguese player, former Sporting, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, and Barcelona player, said that Infantino "has debased the office of FIFA President that he promised to elevate, 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."
Figo even said that, despite all the "rogues" he has met in his 20 years as a player, Infantino has been "the lowest, most deceitful and cravenly self-interested behaviour I have ever witnessed."
Figo referred to the plan to partly privatise World Cup as a scheme in which he would end up earning $30 million dollars per year but hid the "crippling returns that private equity always seek" and that it's not surprising knowing "the litany of abuses he has inflicted on football's reputation; from suspending and reversing disciplinary decisions to breaking the laws of the game over a half-time show, nothing gets in the way of pleasing his friends."
