On August 1st local time, Bild newspaper introduced current FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Born into a Swiss immigrant family, he rose to power during the 2016 FIFA crisis, leveraging his experience at UEFA and consolidating support by increasing subsidies for member associations. However, during his ten years at the helm of FIFA, he has faced criticism for excessive centralization of power, pandering to politicians, intertwined business interests, and a lack of transparency. Despite denying corruption allegations and securing re-election, his leadership style is widely perceived as increasingly personalized, even criticized as "dictatorial." Now, the failure of his investment plan may shake his power base.

In a speech before the opening ceremony of the 2022 Qatar World Cup on November 19, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said about himself: "Today, I feel like a Qatari; today, I feel like an Arab; today, I feel like an African; today, I feel like a homosexual; today, I feel like a disabled person; today, I feel like a migrant worker. I feel this way because I have witnessed all of this."

Gianni Infantino has controlled FIFA for a decade, and practically single-handedly made all the decisions. The president of the world's highest governing body claims to love football. But he seems to love power even more than football. Now, this football mogul has suffered a major setback due to his controversial investor plan.

Who is Infantino?

Gianni Infantino was born in Brig, Valais, Switzerland in 1970, the youngest of three children. His parents were migrant workers from Italy.

Maria, the mother, ran a small newsstand, while Vincenzo, the father, worked as a newspaper deliveryman at the train station and also sold snacks. But problems arose long before Infantino was born. Doctors discovered an abnormality in the fetus's blood. With 12 days left until the due date, doctors decided to deliver him prematurely.

A battle against death ensued. He developed severe jaundice, and only a complete blood transfusion could save the child's life. The Red Cross eventually found two people across Europe with the same rare blood type. One was in Bristol, England, and the other in Belgrade, Serbia. Each donated half a liter of blood, which was then urgently transported by a rescue air force. It was thanks to these two people that Infantino survived.

56 years later, he became the most powerful person in the world of football.

Infantino as a boy

Gianni Infantino attended the Holy Spirit Academy high school in Brig-Gliss, Switzerland, during his youth. In 2001, Infantino married Lena Ashkar, a Lebanese woman. She rarely accompanies her husband in public.

The two met while working together. At the time, Ashkar was the deputy secretary general of the Lebanese Football Federation, while Infantino was still working for UEFA.

FIFA covers rent and tuition fees

The couple has four daughters: twins Sabrina and Alesia (both 23 years old), Shania Serena (21 years old), and Dalia Nora (15 years old).

The twins were born the day after Infantino's father died.

In an interview with the Swiss media outlet Blick, Infantino recounted this experience: "My father passed away, and the next day, my twin daughters were born. I lost my father, but suddenly I had two children the next day. This is the purest continuation of life."

Today, the family lives in the Swiss canton of Zug in a penthouse apartment with approximately 4.5 rooms.

The monthly rent of €8,500 was paid by FIFA. In addition, FIFA provided the president with an apartment in Paris. It's worth noting that before moving to Zug, the Infantino family lived in Kusnacht, Zurich, on the other side of Lake Zug. However, the tax burden there seemed too high for him. After the move, his tax payments were reduced by about half, as the highest tax rate in Zug, a "tax haven," is only 22%.

For a time, the Infantino family also lived in Doha, Qatar. This Gulf capital is also where he has been renting accommodation since the 2022 World Cup. His two daughters attend school there. His other daughter attends school in Miami, where her annual tuition of nearly €52,000 is covered by FIFA.

After his marriage, Infantino acquired Swiss and Italian citizenship, as well as Lebanese citizenship. He is fluent in English, Italian, French, German, Arabic, Spanish, and Portuguese. Furthermore, he is considered a complete workaholic, always on the go and always on the move.

To ensure he can arrive on time for events around the world, Infantino now owns a favorite "toy"—a private jet.

This is a Gulfstream G650ER ultra-long-range business jet, manufactured by Gulfstream Aerospace. The aircraft has a maximum range of 13,890 kilometers, can carry up to 19 passengers, and features 16 panoramic windows. Price: €60 million!

However, Infantino does not need to pay for this himself. The aircraft was provided by Qatar Airways, a subsidiary of Qatar Airways and a World Cup sponsor. Infantino flies to destinations around the world on a Gulfstream G650ER.

From street football to world football

Let's go back to his childhood. As a child, Infantino played for the Folgoré football club and later participated in the fifth division.

But his football career didn't take off. After completing his studies, he went on to study law at the University of Fribourg. In 2000, he joined UEFA. He subsequently held several positions within UEFA, eventually becoming General Secretary in 2009. But Infantino wasn't content with that.

His chance came. In May 2015, police raided the luxury hotel Bauer-Olac in Zurich and arrested seven FIFA officials.

The Swiss Federal Prosecutor’s Office subsequently launched a criminal investigation into then-FIFA President Sepp Blatter (now 90 years old), on charges including misappropriation of funds.

At the heart of the case was a payment of €2 million—a sum FIFA paid to UEFA President Michel Platini. Although the court later acquitted both men, they were no longer fit to remain in their positions. Blatter, also from the canton of Valais, Switzerland, like Infantino, eventually resigned, while Platini was banned from football.

FIFA was in chaos, and Infantino saw his opportunity. He arrived at the right time and in the right place. In October 2015, Infantino officially submitted his candidacy, aiming for the highest position in world football.

Whoever pays the money has the say.

In February 2016, Gianni Infantino officially became "FIFAntino." (Note: This is a humorous nickname derived from the combination of Infantino and FIFA.)

In the second round of voting, he unexpectedly defeated Bahraini Prince Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa (60 years old) with 115 out of 207 votes and was elected FIFA president.

Upon taking office, the Swiss promised transparency, credibility, and a completely new FIFA. He said, "We will restore FIFA's image and reputation." In February 2016, Gianni Infantino was elected FIFA president.

His principle is: whoever makes the contribution decides.

Infantino did indeed offer a substantial amount of money. He promised to increase the grants received by FIFA's 211 member associations every four years from €1.4 million to €4.4 million. Many smaller football associations, in particular, sided with him.

Ten years later, the entire football world is shocked and even angry at how FIFA under Infantino's leadership has become what it is today.

In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, former German Football Association president Zwanziger stated, "Infantino has completely lost touch with grassroots football. He is the least deserving person to serve as president in FIFA history."

Infantino betrayed and sold the sport. According to FIFA's 2025 financial report, his annual salary is approximately €5.27 million. But his ambition seems insatiable.

To curry favor with the powerful and wealthy and profit from it.

Former UEFA president Michel Platini recently spoke about his former protégé Gianni Infantino, saying, "He was an excellent second-in-command, but not a good leader. His problem was that he liked people with money and power. That was just his personality."

Infantino constantly moved closer to the center of power, maintaining close ties with various strongman politicians.

In 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded the FIFA president the Order of Friendship.

At the same time, Infantino also collaborated with the "bloody crown prince" Salman, who was considered responsible for the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi (who was 59 years old).

Infantino has a particularly close relationship with US President Trump (80 years old).

At the World Cup draw ceremony in December, the FIFA president even created a temporary "Peace Prize" and personally awarded it to Trump.

After American striker Balogun was suspended due to a red card, FIFA extended his suspension, allowing him to participate in the round of 16 match between the United States and Belgium (which the United States ultimately lost 1-4). This incident is considered a new low in Infantino's attempts to curry favor with Trump.

Through his relationship with Trump, Infantino's connection with billionaire investor Joshua Kushner may also deepen further.

This billionaire is related to the Trump family: his brother Jared Kushner is the husband of Trump's daughter Ivanka.

Kushner originally planned to play a key role in the World Cup investment project.

Private interests and commercial interests are intertwined

In 2024, Infantino attended a lavish wedding worth 600 million euros, which also sparked controversy.

The wedding was for Anant Ambani, son of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, and Radhika Merchant.

Numerous international celebrities were invited to attend, including Kim Kardashian, Tony Blair, and Justin Bieber, who performed at the event.

Gianni Infantino, dressed in traditional Indian attire, danced on stage wielding an axe in a highly exaggerated manner. He attended as a private guest of the Ambani family, as FIFA and Reliance Industries, a company owned by Ambani, have close business ties and both sides hope to jointly promote the development of the Indian football market.

However, in this process, private celebrations were directly mixed with business negotiations worth millions of euros.

For years, Infantino has been repeatedly accused of violating FIFA regulations.

However, he consistently denied allegations of corruption, and the related investigation was eventually terminated.

Anyone who criticizes him will be excluded.

He became that "unshakeable person".

Criticism? Not allowed!

Infantino's most notable move was pushing for the FIFA Council to gain the power to appoint and dismiss members of oversight bodies, including the Ethics Committee and the Compliance Committee.

Criticism? Not allowed.

The last time he answered questions from reporters at a press conference was in 2023.

Another piece of evidence of Infantino's authoritarian style is that his name was engraved twice on the new version of the Club World Cup trophy, which he spearheaded and which was first held in 2025.

FIFA rules the world of football, and Gianni Infantino rules FIFA.

No wonder former FIFA president Sepp Blatter now says: "Under Gianni Infantino's leadership, FIFA has become a dictatorship."

In 2019, Infantino was re-elected by applause (i.e., without any objections from the audience). Four years later, he was re-elected in the same manner.

Of course, no competitors have emerged. Next year, his third and final term, as stipulated by FIFA's current statutes, will come to an end.

But if Infantino has any distinguishing characteristic, it's that he always manages to find a solution.

His logic was that since he first became chairman after Blatter resigned, his term was only three years instead of the usual four, so it did not count as a full term.

Therefore, Infantino hopes to run for re-election again in 2027.

This will be his third term, and the last term allowed under current rules (until 2031).

He then planned to become the head of FIFA's World Cup operations company to continue to control the World Cup.

However, after losing out in this struggle for power and billions of dollars, the Infantino era may be coming to an end.