Klopp judges Infantino worse than Blatter and calls for FIFA change

Jürgen Klopp dealt a severe blow to Gianni Infantino on Sunday, stating that the FIFA president had managed to do “worse than Sepp Blatter” and that a change in leadership of the global governing body was necessary.

Questioned at a press conference ahead of the Ligue des Nations match between Germany and Netherlands (20:45), the German manager first tempered his remarks. “I cannot speak with absolute certainty. I don’t know if everything is really as bad as what you can read everywhere, but it is clear that opinions are unanimous. On my side, I have been following football for years and I see what is happening.” Before concluding: “A change would make a lot of sense.”

The comparison with Blatter, the former FIFA president removed in 2015 in the wake of a vast corruption scandal, is particularly stinging. “We could not have thought that things could be worse than with Sepp Blatter and yet, he managed it,” Klopp said, with no ambiguity about the successor he had in mind.

The former Liverpool manager concluded on a more constructive note, calling for governance free of financial interests. “It should still be possible to bring people around a table and organize events without financial interests coming into play. If a person fits this profile, that would be good.”

These statements come as Infantino heads toward an almost automatic re-election on November 18, lacking serious opposition. Arsène Wenger, at one point considered as an alternative candidate, has decided not to enter the race. Klopp thus joins an increasingly loud chorus of criticism against the Italian-Swiss-Lebanese official, without putting himself forward as a candidate or explicitly calling for a replacement name.