Right now, FIFA president Gianni Infantino is facing a great deal of scrutiny. He has sparked outrage after his plans to privatise the World Cup were revealed. And by sheer association, some will also be critical of Arsene Wenger.

The former Arsenal manager has been serving as FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development since 2019, three years after Infantino took charge of the organisation. The pair have often been spotted together at games, and this was the case once again during the 2026 World Cup.

Since the tournament ended on 19 July, Infantino has attempted to form a new commercial subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprises (FFE), which aimed to sell shares in the World Cup to private investors. His actions have not gone down well, with UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation all rejecting the scheme.

Adding to that, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has exclusively told GIVEMESPORT that Infantino should step down, while UEFA have also expressed a loss of confidence in the FIFA head even after he backed down from the proposal. With all this in mind, it’s interesting to learn where Wenger’s stands on Infantino.

Wenger Discussed His Experience Working With Infantino

There are rumblings that Infantino has lost some internal support amid the fallout. Most notably, his senior advisor Carlos Cordeiro announced his immediate resignation in protest of the controversial plans.

Wenger is yet to speak out on his boss at FIFA since the scandal broke, but he has been very vocal about his support of Infantino in the recent past. In February 2026, just months before the World Cup, the Arsenal legend paid glowing tribute.

Speaking to the Mirror, he claimed FIFA should be very “proud” of the “huge improvement” seen across Infantino’s ten-year reign. Wenger said:

Wenger continued, speaking on how FIFA have looked to expand in many different areas. He noted: “We have for the first time now a World Cup with 48 teams. Our target is to have 100 academies in 100 different countries, so that shows you how big the impact will be worldwide. It will change the world. And I’m convinced as well that the U-15 and U-17 World Cup every year will change football in the world – and it will change the world, believe me. So that I think is a very positive step.

“A lot has been done in the last 10 years to help countries who were behind Europe to develop their potential.

“So, that’s certainly the proudest moment, but you can look at these 10 years – a huge improvement has been made in the countries who were far behind and slowly the level is more unified and is much higher everywhere in the world. “I would say with hindsight, we realise that for the first time, in the last 10 years, FIFA has gone for a very strong educational programme.

“Before, FIFA had done a lot of work, of course, and a lot of good work, but it was mainly about organising competitions, about keeping the rules of the game, being a guarantor of the rules of the game, where we participate as well and we want to move the game forward as well.

“But for the first time in the last 10 years, FIFA has gone into an educational role and responsibility and that in my opinion will change the world.”

Wenger Explained Why He Joined FIFA

Wenger retired from football management in 2018, but was picked up by FIFA the following year after his Arsenal exit. In the same interview, the Frenchman detailed what it’s like to work with Infantino and why he wanted to become part of the organisation:

“He is conscious that every country deserves a chance and he has helped me to get the funds and to get the funds voted by all the federations to support this programme. And I must say, he has been a huge supporter of the Development Programme so overall he’s always keen to move things forward.”

Wenger concluded: “I thought the best way to have an influence in the world of football is at global level and I decided to join FIFA, to say yes to their question: ‘Would you like to join us and help us to improve the quality of the game in the world?’ And, it was obvious for me.

“You see the world has changed. When we go to the tournaments, everybody is excited about developing their potential and overall this is a huge success.”

Aitana Bonmati has spent her career proving what greatness looks like in women’s football, picking up the Ballon d’Or Feminin three years running from 2023-2025, and establishing herself as one of the sharpest football minds in the game today.

Few players understand the demands of winning individual honours quite like she does, which is exactly why her opinion on the men’s race carries weight. So when she’s asked to weigh in on who should take home the men’s award, it’s worth paying attention.

With the World Cup now in the rearview mirror and the race for the Ballon d’Or heating up, Bonmati offered her take on which players truly earned the right to be crowned the best in the world this year, landing on three names that reflect just how open this year’s race has become.

Aitana Bonmati’s Three Ballon d’Or Picks Explained

Speaking to Mundo Deportivo via Barca Blaugranes, the 28-year-old immediately floated Rodri and Lionel Messi as two players who caught her eye during the tournament, with her admiration for Messi stemming from his ability to still perform at such a high level heading into his 40s.

She then turned to a more unexpected choice: Barcelona’s young defender, Pau Cubarsi. It’s a bold pick, given how rarely defenders are recognised with football’s most prestigious individual honour.

Bonmati justified the selection by referencing history, noting that Fabio Cannavaro once claimed the Ballon d’Or as a centre-back off the back of a World Cup win:

In her eyes, Cubarsi’s standout performances throughout the tournament put him in similar territory, making him a legitimate dark horse for the award.

Where the Bookmakers Stand on the Ballon d’Or

England’s Harry Kane looks worried via REUTERS/Peter Cziborra

Bonmati’s shortlist doesn’t quite line up with the current betting markets. Harry Kane holds a narrow edge as favourite heading into the announcement, largely on the back of a prolific season in front of goal for Bayern Munich, with Lamine Yamal, World Cup Golden Ball winner Rodri, Kylian Mbappe and Messi rounding out the group closely behind him.

Interestingly, Rodri and Messi appear on both lists, suggesting Bonmati’s instincts aren’t too far removed from the wider consensus, even if Cubarsi remains something of an outlier.

Fans won’t have to wait too much longer to find out who takes home the prize, with the winner set to be revealed on the 26th of October.

The race for the 2026 Ballon d’Or is really heating up, with some of the biggest stars on the planet staking a serious claim with incredible performances at the World Cup.

The likes of Lionel Messi and Rodri, who both played in the final, have dragged themselves into the discussion after being overlooked prior to the biggest international competition in the world. Elsewhere, Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane continued their impressive club form during the tournament.

But there isn’t a clear front-runner, which was often the case during Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s decade of dominance. To try and find the clear favourite, a formula has been put together to rank the 12 favourites in order.

Ballon d’Or Study Explained

A Reddit user has come up with a formula that takes several metrics into account, such as goals + assists, POTS awards and trophies.

The formula has been explained by the user: “There has been a lot of discussion about who deserves this year’s Ballon d’Or, so I wanted to put the main contenders side by side. I collected some of the most important statistics and achievements to compare 12 of the current favourites.

“The graphic compares their goals, assists, goal contributions, trophies, all-competition Player of the Match awards and major individual honours. Gold, silver and bronze highlight the top three in each category.

“It also uses a simple weighted model – 40% G+A, 20% POTM, 20% trophies, 12% Player of the Season/Tournament awards and 8% Golden Boots – to produce a provisional ranking.”

It admittedly favours attacking players with goals and assists playing a big part, as they continued: “This ranking naturally favours attackers, which applies to almost all of the listed favourites apart from Rodri. His attacking output should therefore be largely disregarded in the Ballon d’Or discussion, but I still felt obliged to include him because of his overall influence and place among the leading candidates.”

Lionel Messi Deserves Second-Place Ballon d’Or Finish

Credit: Jerome Miron (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters)

Messi, an eight-time winner of the award, falls just short of first place in this study. The Inter Miami forward narrowly missed out on the World Cup Golden Ball despite netting eight goals at 39 years old, and the Argentina icon would have to settle for second place again.

But that still puts him a lot higher than the man who beat him to being named the World Cup’s best player, Rodri. The Spaniard finishes dead last in these rankings despite some wonderful displays on world football’s biggest stage. As previously mentioned, the model leans towards attacking players, so the Man City stalwart only manages a 25.8 score out of 100.

That puts him behind the likes of Deniz Undav (33.0), Luis Diaz (41.0) and even Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes (41.8). The latter did break the Premier League’s all-time assist record in a single season this year, but he’s hardly been mentioned in the Ballon d’Or conversation.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is in eighth, most likely held back by Georgia’s failure to qualify for the World Cup this summer. However, he only just scores less than Real Madrid hero Kylian Mbappe and his PSG teammate Ousmane Dembele.

Elsewhere, Lamine Yamal and Erling Haaland narrowly miss out on places on the podium. Both had big World Cup tournaments and managed impressive goal and assist hauls over the season. Yamal got 45, while Haaland registered 69 for club and country.

That leaves two Bayern Munich stars in the top three alongside Messi. Michael Olise broke Pele’s assist record in a single World Cup campaign (7), and manages to sneak into third spot here due to his impressive tally of 34 for club and country.

However, Olise and Messi are beaten to the crown by England’s talisman, Harry Kane. The 33-year-old smashed in 74 goals, which is one of the highest-scoring seasons of the 21st century. An Englishman hasn’t won the Golden Ball since Michael Owen in 2001, but Kane is certainly in the running after a brilliant club season and firing the Three Lions to their best World Cup finish since 1966.