One of Gianni Infantino’s vice presidents at FIFA has turned against him, as an explosive letter sent to football’s vilified leader was leaked this week. The Swiss millionaire has felt intense heat in office ever since his idea to sell stakes in the World Cup he unveiled last month backfired on him.

Infantino, FIFA’s president since 2016 after he gazumped Sepp Blatter to power, is under significant pressure following his failed Football Forward Enterprise (FFE) scheme – which would have seen stakes in the World Cup sold to private investors, resulting in a major cash windfall for the beautiful game’s shot-callers.

His biggest opponents throughout the saga have been UEFA and CONMEBOL, European and South American football’s governing bodies. Aleksander Ceferin’s series of statements – which have read more like written attacks – has prompted England and several other nations to withdraw their support for the 56-year-old, while it appears increasingly likely that Infantino will lose power at March’s election.

That was once seen as unthinkable. He previously had no serious challengers for the role and enjoyed the written backing of 200 nations following the hugely profitable 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Now, though, even his own council members are turning on him after his decision to sack Kevin Lamour following his criticism of Infantino’s leadership.

FIFA Vice Presidents Turns Against Infantino in Explosive Leaked Letter

REUTERS/Carl Recine

According to the Guardian, Infantino has lost the support of another high-ranking FIFA official, with the Hungarian football federation chief, Sandor Csanyi, criticising the president’s “professional judgment, ethical standards and leadership”.

In an explosive letter sent to Infantino on Tuesday, which was first obtained by the news agency Agence France-Presse, Csanyi states that he has “lost the confidence I previously placed in you” and describes the “unexpected dismissal” of Fifa’s chief operating officer, Kevin Lamour, as the “final straw”.

Lamour was sacked by FIFA on Monday after breaking ranks last month by criticising Infantino over his aborted plan to sell off shares in the World Cup to private investors. Csanyi’s letter continues the trend of senior global football figures deserting Infantino, with the Hungarian banker the fifth of Fifa’s eight vice-presidents to call for him to stand down.

“My conviction that you are capable of continuing to lead Fifa successfully and effectively in accordance with the shared values that previously formed the basis of our cooperation has been undermined,” Csanyi also wrote. “The final straw was the unexpected dismissal of Kevin Lamour.”

The letter also cited “a number of controversial decisions” at this year’s World Cup, including Infantino’s involvement in “plans to outsource FIFA competitions and place them in the hands of external parties”.

Infantino’s Support Network Is Toppling Around Him Like Dominoes

REUTERS/Lee Smith

The UEFA president, Aleksander Ceferin, Victor Montagliani of CONCACAF – the North and Central American and Caribbean Confederation – and Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al Khalifa of the Asian Football Confederation have all made their positions clear, as has the Football Association chair, Debbie Hewitt.

Of the Fifa vice-presidents, only Alejandro Domínguez of South America’s Conmebol, Patrick Motsepe of the Confederation of African Football and Oceania’s Lambert Maltock are supporting Infantino. Csanyi is also a member of the 37-strong FIFA council, which is its main decision-making body, but has been repeatedly overlooked by Infantino, making any breakaway decision all the more easy.

Tottenham Hotspur are currently undergoing a major summer of change, and it now looks likely that there will be yet another big departure before the transfer window slams shut.

Spurs have made six signings so far, bringing in Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi, Martin Dubravka, Jan Paul van Hecke, Mateus Fernandes, and Sandro Tonali, while Luka Vuskovic, Djed Spence, Cristian Romero, Radu Dragusin, Will Lankshear, Manor Solomon, and Guglielmo Vicario have all departed the club.

The club are now in advanced talks over a double deal to sign Savinho and Omar Marmoush from Man City to strengthen the attack, while Cody Gakpo is also a target, but it means that there will likely be more departures too, as the club look to balance the books.

One star who has been regularly linked with a move away this summer is midfielder Lucas Bergvall, with Brighton and Nottingham Forest linked, while Newcastle have made him their prime target, despite having an offer rejected earlier in the window.

However, reports have since suggested that De Zerbi is keen to keep the Swede, and has held talks to convince him to at least wait until January to reassess the situation.

“There will be a big competition to play because, at the end, I think we will be two players for each position. If he wants to stay, I will be happy.” – De Zerbi on Bergvall

But with Fernandes, Tonali, Bergvall, Rodrigo Bentancur, and Conor Gallagher likely making up the manager’s midfield options for the season, it means that Pape Matar Sarr may have already played his final game for the club.

£50m Sarr Has No Spurs Future

Reports have suggested that Spurs have put a £50m asking price on the Senegal international, and they have received enquiries from Saudi Arabia, Brentford, and Aston Villa about his availability.

Sarr has also been a reliable servant, but with limited game time this season and the transfer business the club has done, he’s way down the pecking order. De Zerbi has clearly made his mind up on the midfield too, with Sarr featuring for just 87 minutes during pre-season – less than every other midfield option in the squad.

De Zerbi’s decision to keep two players for each position means it would be a long way back for him, and it now looks clear that he has already played his final game for the club.

A much-loved WWE Hall of Famer has opened up on the frustrations they felt before making the decision to part ways with the company.

Adam Copeland, formerly known as Edge, has claimed that WWE kept him ‘handcuffed’ during his most recent run.

The current AEW Tag Team Champion, with long-time best friend Christian Cage, Copeland has shed some light on why he made the switch to WWE’s biggest competitor in 2023. The Canadian appeared on the Ariel Helwani Show, where he made some pointed comments about how his final months in WWE.

Copeland first signed with WWE in 1997, making his main roster debut the following year. Across two separate stints, he worked for the company for more than 25 years.

Edge’s WWE Career Explored

In WWE, as Edge, he became one of the most decorated champions in the history of the company, being a seven-time World Champion and also a fourteen-time Tag Team Champion with a whole host of different partners, from Christian to Hulk Hogan. It was thought his career was finished in 2011 when he was forced to retire due to a devastating neck injury. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame the following year.

However, at the Royal Rumble in 2020, he shocked the world and returned for another spell with the company.

For the majority of his time with WWE, former CEO Vince McMahon was in charge of overseeing storylines and creative decisions. That changed in July 2022, when Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque took over as WWE’s Chief Content Officer.

Within barely a year of Triple H being in charge, Copeland had decided to leave the company, allowing his contract to run down so he could join AEW. He wrestled his final match as Edge when he defeated Sheamus on the August 18th 2023 edition of SmackDown in his hometown of Toronto. He would debut in AEW just a few short weeks later.

WWE Hall of Famer Reveals ‘Real Reason’ He Left Company

The 52-year-old explained his dislike of how WWE was run under Triple H, in comparison with periods such as the Attitude Era. Copeland revealed that he was not having fun towards the end of his time with WWE, noting that talent had little way of expressing themselves outside what was laid out by various producers and agents.

Copeland admitted that he enjoys the fact that the product is not as nailed down in AEW. It gives wrestlers the chance to explore and try different things out within the parameters set to them.

With the retirement of veterans over the last year, such as John Cena and AJ Styles, as well as the release of names like Sheamus and The New Day, the WWE locker room has lost a great deal of experience in recent times.

The veteran star reasoned that ‘you need a locker room with different elements’ and people who can be a ‘calming influence’ or ‘a shoulder to turn to’, and made it clear that is one of his main roles of his at this point in his career.