La Liga president Javier Tebas has intensified his campaign against Gianni Infantino, insisting the Fifa president's era at the helm of world football has effectively come to an end and calling for sweeping reforms that would loosen the grip of the sport's elite institutions.
Speaking to French newspaper Le Monde, Tebas, a persistent and outspoken critic of Fifa's current leadership, argued that Infantino has done lasting damage to the fabric of the game rather than strengthening it. "Gianni Infantino is not someone who contributes to the growth of football. On the contrary, his projects are destroying the very essence of the sport: the national leagues," Tebas said.
The La Liga chief renewed his demand for Infantino's resignation, a call he first issued after the World Cup but before revelations emerged about a since-abandoned plan to sell a stake in the tournament to private investors. Tebas made clear this was not a reaction to recent headlines alone, but the culmination of long-standing concerns about how Fifa has been run under Infantino. "For me, Gianni Infantino's time has long since passed," he said, adding that he had observed this pattern of leadership for years even as others only now seem to be waking up to it.
"Football is not limited to the elite. For me, the Infantino era is over. What remains to be seen is when that will take effect and how the succession will unfold. I hope it is not just a matter of swapping out some people for others, but of a genuine overhaul," Tebas said, framing his criticism as a call for structural change rather than a simple change of personnel.
Tebas's comments arrive amid a broader and increasingly organized push from within European football to force Infantino out. Uefa has signaled that it views his continued leadership as untenable, while the Norwegian Football Federation has explicitly called on him to step down. Several national associations have also withdrawn earlier letters of support that had backed Infantino for a further term as Fifa president.
Adding to the pressure, Uefa confirmed at the weekend that a "departure payment" had been made to a female employee said to have been involved in a relationship with Infantino more than a decade ago, when he served as the organization's general secretary. The claim, first reported by the Daily Telegraph, alleged the woman received a six-figure settlement following the relationship. Fifa has firmly denied the allegations, describing them as "categorically untrue."
Fifa has pushed back forcefully against what it characterizes as a coordinated attempt to unseat Infantino ahead of the presidential election scheduled for next March. In a statement issued Saturday, the organization accused his detractors of trying to circumvent Fifa's democratic procedures. "Those who do not have the support of Fifa's member associations should not seek to achieve through allegation, insinuation or misinformation what they cannot achieve through Fifa's established democratic processes," the statement read.
Despite the growing chorus of criticism from Europe, Infantino retains significant support elsewhere, including from Mexico, which co-hosted the World Cup, and Argentina, the beaten finalists. Meanwhile, Uefa has kept open the possibility of boycotting Fifa competitions altogether, a threat that looms over the women's Under-20 World Cup set to begin in Poland on September 5.
The standoff sets the stage for a tense build-up to next year's presidential vote, with Infantino's future as Fifa's leader increasingly contested both inside and outside the corridors of European football power.
Based on reporting from The Guardian.