It could be argued that Gianni Infantino is the least popular man in all of world football right now. After all, he will forever be remembered as the FIFA president who tried to sell the World Cup.

The administrator planned to profit from a commercial subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprises (FFE), which would allow private investors to purchase stakes in major international competitions, such as the World Cup and the Club World Cup. His scheme was rejected by most within the sport and will not go ahead.

For many, this has all been a step too far, with UEFA among those to express no confidence in Infantino – while past Ballon d’Or winner Luis Figo has personally called for Infantino’s resignation. This is, however, not the first time the 56-year-old has sparked fury from within the footballing community.

Gianni Infantino Sparked Fury at Pele’s Funeral

REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake

In late 2022, the sporting world was grieving the loss of a true great. Brazil legend Pele had just passed away at the age of 82. A few days later, FIFA president Infantino was among those to rush to his funeral.

His behaviour near Pele’s open coffin, however, was widely criticised. The Swiss football administrator was seen taking a selfie near the legend’s body as he lay in state at the stadium of his former club Santos before he was laid to rest.

Infantino took the picture alongside some of Pele’s former team-mates, including Lima. When news broke of his actions, there was a great outcry. A report from Sky News at the time noted that some fans online had labelled the behaviour as “classless”, a “disgrace”, “horrible” and “disgusting.”

The image below was shared on Reuters, showing Pele in his coffin while Infantino takes a selfie. GIVEMESPORT has cropped the photo so Pele is not visible.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino takes a selfie at Pele’s funeral via REUTERS/Diego Vara

Infantino Defended His Actions in Statement

To this day, Infantino’s response – which includes selfies taken at the funeral – remains up on his Instagram account. He didn’t exactly apologise for his actions either, but rather explained how ‘dismayed’ he was for being criticised.

His full statement read: “Just landed from my trip to Brazil where I had the privilege to participate in the beautiful homage to Pelé that took place at Vila Belmiro, in Santos.

“In the case of the selfie, Pele’s teammates asked to do a selfie of all of us together but they didn’t know how to do it. So, to be helpful, I took the phone of one of them and took the photo of all of us for him. If being helpful to a teammate of Pele creates criticism I’m happy to take it and will continue to be helpful wherever I can to those having contributed to write legendary pages of football.”

In typical Infantino style, he then went on the attack, claiming those who called out his behaviour should ‘admit they were wrong’ and apologise:

“The most important in any case is to pay tribute to King Pele, and whilst I humbly suggested that throughout our 211 member associations at least one football stadium or venue is named after him, we will set the example by giving the pitch in our headquarters the name “Estádio Pele – FIFA Zurich”. Um abraço e viva o Rei!”

In football, the attacking players tend to get most of the glory. After all, only two defenders Franz Beckenbauer and Fabio Cannavaro) and one goalkeeper (Lev Yashin) have ever won the Ballon d’Or. Sir Alex Ferguson, however, seemed to have a great appreciation for one iconic defender.

Having won a record number of 13 Premier League titles during his time as Manchester United manager, and two Champions Leagues as well, the Scottish coach would have known better than most that any successful team must rely on a sturdy backline. Perhaps this explains why he held one man in such high regard.

Indeed, Ferguson once went on record as saying that he preferred a certain centre-back over the likes of Lionel Messi, Kaka and Zinedine Zidane.

Ferguson Loved ‘Wonderful’ Italian Defender

For many, Paolo Maldini is regarded as one of the best defenders in football history. He spent his entire career with AC Milan, lifting three Champions Leagues and a whopping seven Serie A titles. He also played 126 times for Italy, as he marshalled his nation’s defence for a number of years.

Ferguson was a huge fan of the centre-back. As quoted by TalkSport, he even said he preferred Maldini over some of the most exciting footballers of the 21st century:

Ferguson Wanted Maldini at Man Utd

It’s not the only time Ferguson has spoken fondly about Maldini either. Indeed, he once revealed he tried to sign the player, only to get a rather strong rebuttal from the player’s father Cesare (who also played for AC Milan, playing 412 times for the Italian club).

Ferguson recalled: “I once asked Maldini’s father Cesare about him. He looked at me as if I was a madman and that response was enough to understand that the answer would be no.”

He also rated fellow Italians Gianfranco Zola and Francesco Totti, remarking: “I also loved Gianfranco Zola a lot. He always played with a smile and with the right sporting spirit,” before then adding:

“Totti is the symbol of Roma, he’d never want to leave the club just like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes at United. Totti needs to be kept at a certain level for Roma, just as I do at United. I may not let Giggs play every week but he’s always there. It could be the same for Totti.”

Unfortunately for Ferguson, Italian’s moving to the Premier League has never been a really popular pipeline. In fact, only six men from that country have won the competition: Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal), Federico Chiesa (Liverpool), Mario Balotelli (Manchester City), Federico Macheda (Manchester United), Carlo Cudicini (Chelsea), and Massimo Taibi (Manchester United) – with most of them only playing a bit-part role.

Had Maldini ended up at Man Utd, though, it’s hard to imagine him achieving anything other than great success under Ferguson.