Why Donald Trump dropped ‘loser’ FIFA boss Gianni Infantino
The Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino bromance is over, just weeks after the end of the 2026 World Cup. Was the FIFA boss’s greedy attempt to make himself millions from football to blame?
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In brief…
- FIFA boss Gianni Infantino has seen both the football world and Donald Trump turn on him after plans to sell stakes in football events were met with widespread backlash.
- The News Agents say that Trump, who was inseparable from Infantino during this year’s World Cup in America, “doesn’t like losers”.
- Infantino’s aim in this plan, they add, was to make himself millions.
What’s the story?
For months, Donald Trump and FIFA boss Gianni Infantino have seemed inseparable.
In December 2025, Trump awarded the first ever 'FIFA Peace Prize' after months of complaining about having never been given a Nobel Peace Prize. In the 2026 World Cup, when a star player on the US team was given a red card, Infantino lifted a match ban after a phone call from Trump.
But fly too close to the sun and you'll get burned, is how the old saying goes, and Infantino may have now finally pushed the limits of his position too far for Trump.
His plans to sell stakes in Fifa events was met with huge backlash, including legal threats from UEFA, and have now been scrapped.
Trump spoke dismissively of Infantino when he was quizzed about the axed plans during a press conference in the White House, claiming he knew nothing of them.
"This man who Trump has been glued to for the entirety of the World Cup, is now basically persona non grata," says Emily Maitlis.
"Infantino f**ked up, and Trump doesn't like losers."
Maitlis says Infantino's mistake was to try and make more profit from football, already a huge money earner, which has already netted FIFA an estimated $4 billion in reserves.
"It's got a lot of money, so it's quite hard to pretend that you've had a novel idea about football monetisation," she adds.
"It also looks really awkward when reports are coming out about the millions that Infantino would personally make if this deal were to go through."