Arsene Wenger’s reputation is tainted by Gianni Infantino association
Arsene Wenger’s reputation is tainted by Gianni Infantino association
Sam DeanSun, August 2, 2026 at 8:00 AM UTC
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Gianni Infantino (left) and Arsene Wenger have regularly appeared side by side since the Frenchman’s appointment at Fifa in 2019 - Pascal Bitz/Getty Images
As the empire built by Gianni Infantino begins to crumble, the most high-profile figure in the Fifa president’s orbit remains unseen and unheard. What say you, Arsène Wenger? Senior advisors, chief operating officers and even Donald Trump have to varying extents distanced themselves from the stumbling Swiss administrator, but the views of Wenger remain a mystery.
Wenger, now 76 and no doubt recovering from a gruelling World Cup schedule, has no obligation to speak out publicly against his boss. But the Frenchman has always had a perceptive brain and he must know he is at serious risk of being dragged into the mire with Infantino, given his closeness to the man and the nature of his own role at Fifa.
As Fifa’s chief of global football development, one would imagine Wenger has some fairly insightful views on the project that allegedly existed to develop football across the globe. This is, quite literally, Wenger’s area of professional expertise. Whether it is fair or not, outside observers will link Wenger’s title to the nature of the botched plan, and they will wonder about his potential involvement in it.
Of course, Wenger’s silence does not equal complicity. It is clear that very few in the upper echelons of Fifa knew of Infantino’s plot before it was revealed by The Times. Indeed, there is no suggestion that Wenger knew any more than Kevin Lamour, Fifa’s chief operating officer, or senior advisor Carlos Cordeiro, both of whom say they were blindsided.
Carlos Cordeiro (left) resigned on Friday, saying he ‘had no involvement in this proposal’ - Evan Vucci/AP
During his 22 years as Arsenal manager, Wenger famously claimed he “did not see” controversial incidents involving his players. It is certainly feasible that he truly did not see this one coming from Infantino.
It is unquestionably the case, though, that Wenger exists under a brighter spotlight than his Fifa colleagues. People care what Wenger thinks, says and does much more than they care about the lesser-known executives who are now scrambling to abandon Infantino.
In other words, the footballing world has high expectations of Wenger, whose status as one of the modern game’s great thinkers is one reason why he was so attractive to Fifa in the first place. After all, it is Wenger’s standing in the sport that has made him such a useful ally to Infantino over the past seven years.
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Wenger’s presence at Infantino’s side lends legitimacy to the Fifa president. That has been the case ever since November 2019, when Fifa announced Wenger’s appointment with an image of the two men clasping hands and beaming down the camera lens.
Wenger agreed to become Fifa’s chief of global football development in 2019, a year on from his Arsenal departure - PA Wire
Wenger is either in Infantino’s inner circle, or he is close enough to smell it. When Infantino appeared at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year, he did so alongside the former Arsenal manager. When Infantino celebrated 10 years as Fifa president, Wenger praised him for being “always ready to move forward and create new ideas”. At the World Cup, Wenger would often be seen sitting behind Infantino at matches or shaking his hands in the stands.
For those who idolised Wenger during his time at Arsenal, his association with Fifa in recent years has been hard to stomach. That is especially the case now, as Infantino’s presidency reaches new levels of toxicity.
Wenger, a man positioned by his supporters as a moral compass and faithful protector of the game, is closely associated with those seeking to change the sport forever in pursuit of financial gain. Will he remain on this side of the fence, loyal to Infantino? Or will he, too, make clear that this was a step too far? Much of Wenger’s reputation, which has already been damaged by his relationship with Infantino, may now rest on the direction he takes from here.
Long before these latest developments inside Fifa’s corridors of power, many of those who admired Wenger had grown uncomfortable with his evolving views. In recent years, for example, he was supportive of an expanded World Cup. But in 2015, as Arsenal manager, he warned of the damaging impact an expanded World Cup would have on player welfare.
Wenger was largely admired for his stance on money in football during his 22 years at Arsenal - Stuart MacFarlane/Getty Images
During his time in the Premier League, Wenger famously coined the term “financial doping” to describe the spending of Chelsea and Manchester City. Similarly memorable were comments in 2003 by David Dein, then Arsenal’s vice-chairman, about Chelsea’s approach to the transfer market. “Roman Abramovich has parked his Russian tanks on our lawn and is firing £50 notes at us,” Dein said.
At that time, and over the subsequent decade, Wenger railed against the corrupting influence of money in football. To extend Dein’s metaphor, he felt that football was under fire from those tanks. Now, Wenger’s critics will argue that he is sitting inside the tank. Or at least standing closely behind it, as Infantino attempted to obliterate much of the modern game.
The Wenger of Arsenal would likely have been one of the most articulate and intelligent critics of such a scheme. The Wenger of Fifa? Well, we don’t know. The longer we have to wait, the more people will feel that he has become more of a polluter than a purist.
Source: “AOL Sports”
