Rome, 5 Aug. (LaPresse) – “I could write 10,000 words about FIFA’s problems. But the solution requires just three: Infantino must go. I have loved football all my life. I was a professional player for 20 years. And believe me, I’ve come across some real scoundrels during my career. But what has come to light over the last 10 days is the most despicable, deceitful and petty behaviour I have ever seen.” This is the opening of a long letter by Luis Figo published in the Daily Mail, in which the former Ballon d’Or winner launches a scathing attack on FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s leadership. “The man who would do such a thing, the man who would try to impose such radical changes just to line his own pockets and those of his friends, is a relic of this sport’s past and should have no part in its future. If it was such a good idea, why didn’t you tell your members about it when you had them all gathered in one room before the World Cup final? If it was such a sound plan, why not inform the members of the risks as well as the benefits you described? If the plan was so advantageous, why not be honest and admit that it would ultimately secure a job paying $30 million a year? But none of this was done. Because it isn’t a good idea. It isn’t a sound system when you aren’t transparent about the exorbitant returns that private equity always seeks to achieve. It is certainly not a bold move to fail to explain that, once you’ve sold your stake, it’s lost forever and that you’re disinheriting your heirs from ownership of the World Cup. And it is dishonest to fail to mention that, after handing the World Cup to your friends in Washington on a silver platter, they will offer you a job worth five times your current salary,” he added. “Infantino has debased the office of FIFA president, which he had promised to elevate. He has lied, deceived and sought to enrich himself at the expense of the sport he was supposed to serve. He has lost the support of his most senior staff, his most trusted advisers, the vast majority of people who dedicate their lives to this sport and even, it seems, the winner of the FIFA Peace Prize. It is too late to save his dignity, but it is not too late to save football. He should step down. Immediately,” concludes Figo in his scathing letter.
Football: Figo attacks Infantino: ‘Cowardly and petty behaviour – he must go’
Rome, 5 Aug. (LaPresse) – “I could write 10,000 words about FIFA’s problems. But the solution requires just three: Infantino must go. I have loved football all my life. I was a professional player for 20 years. And believe me, I’ve come across some real scoundrels during my career. But what has come to light over the last 10 days is the most despicable, deceitful and petty behaviour I have ever seen.” This is the opening of a long letter by Luis Figo published in the Daily Mail, in which the former Ballon d’Or winner launches a scathing attack on FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s leadership. “The man who would do such a thing, the man who would try to impose such radical changes just to line his own pockets and those of his friends, is a relic of this sport’s past and should have no part in its future. If it was such a good idea, why didn’t you tell your members about it when you had them all gathered in one room before the World Cup final? If it was such a sound plan, why not inform the members of the risks as well as the benefits you described? If the plan was so advantageous, why not be honest and admit that it would ultimately secure a job paying $30 million a year? But none of this was done. Because it isn’t a good idea. It isn’t a sound system when you aren’t transparent about the exorbitant returns that private equity always seeks to achieve. It is certainly not a bold move to fail to explain that, once you’ve sold your stake, it’s lost forever and that you’re disinheriting your heirs from ownership of the World Cup. And it is dishonest to fail to mention that, after handing the World Cup to your friends in Washington on a silver platter, they will offer you a job worth five times your current salary,” he added. “Infantino has debased the office of FIFA president, which he had promised to elevate. He has lied, deceived and sought to enrich himself at the expense of the sport he was supposed to serve. He has lost the support of his most senior staff, his most trusted advisers, the vast majority of people who dedicate their lives to this sport and even, it seems, the winner of the FIFA Peace Prize. It is too late to save his dignity, but it is not too late to save football. He should step down. Immediately,” concludes Figo in his scathing letter.
