Scandal Continues for FIFA President: Infantino's Second Multimillion-Dollar Salary Exposed

Gianni Infantino is accused of receiving a second salary from an American organization that he had concealed.

According to "Sports Three", Infantino, the president of FIFA, who is facing many scandals, has been accused of receiving a second salary of several million dollars that he did not declare. The Times reported that Infantino was receiving two separate salaries; One from FIFA in Switzerland and the other from an American company that is responsible for organizing the World Cup. The second salary was not announced by FIFA and is said to be worth millions of dollars.

Since Infantino's election as FIFA president in 2016, the body has committed to publishing his salary, bonuses and benefits, as well as that of the FIFA secretary general, every year. The disclosure of this information will probably increase the pressure and surveillance on the 56-year-old Infantino. He has faced pressure to resign since The Times reported in July that he was planning to sell shares in the World Cup to private investors.

According to FIFA's annual report, Infantino will earn £3.88 million in 2024. However, a financial statement submitted to the US Internal Revenue Service by the company set up to organize the World Cup, FWC2026 US Inc, shows that Infantino received another $1.76m (£1.3m) in the same year, which FIFA did not make public in its annual report.

Reports suggest that Infantino will receive similar, if not more, amounts in 2025 and 2026. Miguel Maduro, the former head of FIFA's governance committee, said the failure to declare the extra payments was a "clear violation of FIFA's statutes" and that the matter should be investigated independently.

In another bad news for Infantino, former Tottenham defender Ramon Vega has announced his intention to run against him in the FIFA presidential election. As Europe's top football executives prepared to meet in Berlin to decide on the next step in the fight against world football's governing body, Vega, the 55-year-old former Switzerland centre-back, was the first person to officially take the field.

Vega accused Infantino and current FIFA executives of "demoralizing" football and criticized their performance, saying: "Poor governance has damaged FIFA's reputation and destroyed the trust of the football family around the world." But we must not allow this conflict to escalate further."