Football icons have faced criticism for their seemingly excessive admiration of FIFA president Gianni Infantino a decade after he took office.
FIFA shared glowing endorsements of Infantino through their social media, featuring notable personalities like Tom Brady, despite the president’s contentious reputation.
Tom Brady, co-owner of Birmingham City and an NFL legend, expressed his admiration, stating, “Gianni connects with people and consistently highlights the sport’s best aspects. His contributions to football have been remarkable.”
However, ticket prices for next year’s tournament in the US, Canada, and Mexico are causing a stir, as group match tickets are priced three times higher than those in the last World Cup.
The most affordable tickets for the final will set fans back £3,129, sparking widespread discontent. Infantino, however, defends the pricing as a response to “exceptionally high” demand.
FIFA shared a number of tributes to Gianni Infantino, including one from NFL legend, Tom Brady
Following Brady’s commendations, one fan remarked, “Creating and sharing this montage of praise speaks volumes about Mr. Infantino’s standing in the world more than you might realize.”
Another posted: ‘Tom Brady will literally shill for anyone at this point. Fanatics. Saudi flag football. FIFA. Doesn’t matter.
‘Now he’s calling Gianni Infantino a “man of the people” while World Cup tickets cost a mortgage payment and FIFA is wrapped in controversy.’
That was a sentiment also echoed by the comment: ‘His “man of the people” Infantino has overseen a ticket price increase so drastic that most Americans won’t be able to afford attending a World Cup in their own back yard. Literally would have been cheaper to go to the Euros, flights included.’
Others labelled the praise ’embarrassing’ and a few claimed the FIFA president is worse than his disgraced predecessor, Sepp Blatter.
The love-in was not just limited to Brady. Francesco Totti was included in the compilation of praise, writing: ‘He’s an amazing person, a hard worker, someone who always wants to do his best for football. We’re talking about a genuine competitive, well-rounded person, someone who is always available, always there for everyone.’
Legendary Spanish defender Carlos Puyol added: ‘I think he’s doing a great job. He’s trying to get football to grow.’
And German World Cup winner Lothar Matthäus said: ‘You can tell that he’s very, very close to football, not only in his head but above all his heart. He’s emotionally involved and it’s wonderful, of course, that the president of a world association carries this sport in his heart like that.’
Infantino, pictured this week during a trip to Colombia in a personalised hat, has been at the helm for a decade and FIFA’s X account posted praise of their leader
Infantino rarely misses an opportunity for self-promotion and the praise of his leadership was posted out to FIFA’s 14.9 million followers on X.
It wasn’t just former players gushing over the FIFA president. PSG head honcho Nasser Al-Khelaïfi wrote: ‘Our FIFA Club World Cup, that’s a huge success for me. Around $2billion in revenue in less than one year, so it was a big success for the clubs and for FIFA.’
Infantino has been a divisive character during his decade in charge. He has been repeatedly criticised for his cozy relationship with US president Donald Trump, especially during the Club World Cup and World Cup draw, during which he awarded him a peace prize.
This week, Infantino batted down questions around Mexico’s ability to co-host the World Cup this summer with cartel violence ripping through the country.
Chaos has engulfed Mexico in recent days after the army killed one of the world’s most notorious drug lords, Nemesio ‘El Mencho’ Oseguera Cervantes.
That sparked a wave of retaliation across the country and forced the country’s football federation to postpone a number of games over recent days.
Mexico is slated to host 13 games across three cities – Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey – including the curtain raiser in Mexico City on June 11.
Francesco Totti was another ‘FIFA legend’ to share a tribute, calling him an ‘amazing person’
But amid fears for fans’ safety, Infantino insisted this week that FIFA is ‘convinced everything will turn out for the best.’
‘I want to say from the outset that we have complete confidence in Mexico, in president [Claudia] Sheinbaum, in the authorities, and we are convinced that everything will turn out for the best.
‘From my side and from FIFA’s side, I have absolute confidence in Sheinbaum.
‘We are in regular contact with the authorities, and we are, in any case, monitoring the situation. The World Cup is going to be an incredible celebration.’
