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International football has again been shaken by an extraordinary institutional controversy. Luis Figo has publicly demanded the immediate resignation of FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

In a column published in the British newspaper Daily Mail, the former Real Madrid and FC Barcelona star described the Swiss official’s behaviour as the most “underhanded, deceitful and selfish” he has seen in his entire sporting career.

The immediate cause of the statement was Infantino’s contentious proposal to sell commercial stakes in the World Cup to private investors. The Portuguese great alleged that the president had lied and had tried to enrich himself at the expense of the sport he is meant to protect.

This hard-hitting intervention has come in the middle of a crisis meeting involving the top leadership of football’s governing body.

Along with making the article public, Figo said Infantino had entirely lost the support of his closest advisers as well as the wider global football community.

Public pressure, along with opposition from confederations such as UEFA, has forced the FIFA chief to retreat from his plans, but the damage to his reputation is already being viewed as beyond repair in the highest levels of world football.

The iconic forward concluded his message with a direct demand for urgent action. “It is too late to save his dignity, but not to save football. Infantino must go now,” he said.