Former UEFA boss Michel Platini says FIFA president Gianni Infantino has “become more of an autocrat” and is too interested in the rich and powerful, in an interview with The Guardian on Thursday.
Infantino was Platini’s deputy from 2009 to 2015, when the Frenchman headed European football’s governing body.
“He was a good number two, but he is not a good number one,” Platini said of Infantino. «He worked very well at UEFA, but he has one problem: he likes the rich and powerful people, the ones with money. That is his character.»
“That’s what he was like as number two, but he wasn’t the boss yet.”
“Unfortunately, since the pandemic, Infantino has become more of an autocrat,” he said.
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Ahead of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, Infantino has built a close relationship with US President Donald Trump and created a special FIFA peace prize that he awarded him during the draw for the tournament in December.
The Swiss-Italian lawyer took over from scandal-hit Sepp Blatter in 2016, but Platini believes Infantino’s top-down leadership has made FIFA a less democratic organization than it was during Blatter’s time.
«There is less democracy than in Blatter’s time. You can say what you want about Blatter, but his biggest problem is that he wanted to stay at FIFA all his life. He was a good person for football,» Platini said.
«The administrators in football today are just doing their job. You see many who don’t care whether it is football or basketball. It is not always a matter of loving football when you work at UEFA or FIFA.»
Platini has been an outspoken critic of Infantino and his inner circle for years, accusing him of thwarting the former French great’s bid to become FIFA president by tipping off Swiss prosecutors about an undocumented payment from Blatter to Platini of two million Swiss francs ($2.5 million).
Published on January 16, 2026
