Remember all that drama after the 2026 FIFA World Cup this past summer, when Gianni Infantino was caught attempting to sell shares of the World Cup to private equity investors? That whole whirlwind sent fans and fellow executives into a frenzy, putting Infantino’s position as FIFA president in serious question and creating a super tense atmosphere for the upcoming FIFA presidential elections next spring. Well, FIFA’s main man is back in the spotlight, and this time it’s about a reported $1.76 million payment he snagged that wasn’t publicly disclosed alongside his official salary. Talk about some shady business!
The Official Stash: What FIFA *Wants* You To See
FIFA always makes a big show of being transparent, right? They commit to dropping Gianni Infantino’s salary details every single year in their annual report. For the 2025 calendar year, they declared he pulled in a whopping 4.8 million Swiss Francs, which translates to $5.76 million in gross salary. Yeah, you read that right. That massive haul was broken down into 2.6 million CHF in base salary and another 2.2 million CHF just in bonuses. A pretty sweet gig, on paper.
The Secret Handshake: What Was Hidden
But hold up, because there’s always more to the story. Martyn Ziegler of The Times, the same reporter who blew the lid off that World Cup shares scheme just last month, just dropped another bomb. His report claims Infantino got *additional* money, like, extra compensation, on top of that already huge disclosed salary from FIFA. We’re talking 2024 U.S. tax filings by FWC2026, the company FIFA set up specifically to run the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States last summer. These filings, specifically IRS form 990 that U.S.-based non-profits have to fill out for the government, clearly show a $1.76 million payment to Infantino from FWC2026. And it wasn’t just him either; FIFA General Secretary Matias Graffstrom, CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani, and a bunch of other executives involved in the tournament also got payments. The kicker? This $1.76 million was *extra cash* on top of his regularly reported compensation, and FIFA didn’t breathe a word about it in their public annual financial reports. That’s a major deal.
The heat’s been on Infantino since that World Cup shares fiasco, creating a super tense atmosphere for the upcoming FIFA presidential elections next spring. Now, with this $1.76 million payment popping up completely out of nowhere, it’s not just about what he reportedly got. It’s about “what else he could be receiving out of the public eye.” The questions are piling up for FIFA, big time, and the pressure is absolutely on heading into those elections. We’ll be watching to see how this shakes out.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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