Football legends demand Infantino quits as FIFA president in scathing open statement

A group of football legends including Robert Pires and Juan Sebastián Verón have issued a formal statement calling for Gianni Infantino to step down as FIFA president, declaring that the sport has lost its core values under his leadership.

The intervention marks one of the most high-profile public challenges to Infantino’s authority, arriving after a summer in which the Swiss official faced sustained criticism from fans, players, and governing bodies alike.

At the centre of the controversy is a proposal Infantino unveiled weeks ago known as the FIFA Forward Enterprise — a scheme that would have seen shares of the World Cup sold to private investors. The plan drew immediate and widespread condemnation, with UEFA going as far as threatening to boycott the World Cup should the initiative proceed. Faced with that level of institutional opposition, Infantino ultimately shelved the FFE entirely.

The climbdown, however, has done little to repair the damage to his standing. The legends’ statement suggests that the FFE episode was symptomatic of a broader drift away from the principles that have historically defined the game, and that a change of leadership at the top of world football is now necessary.

Infantino has been FIFA president since 2016 and was most recently re-elected unopposed in 2023. His tenure has been defined by ambitious — and often divisive — commercial expansion, including the enlargement of the World Cup to 48 teams and the creation of the revamped Club World Cup. Critics argue those moves have prioritised revenue over the welfare of players and the integrity of the football calendar.

The statement from Pires, Verón and their co-signatories adds significant symbolic weight to calls that had, until now, come primarily from supporter groups and some national associations. Whether it translates into any formal challenge to Infantino’s position within FIFA’s governance structures remains to be seen.