Gianni Infantino was facing a £22.2m annual salary through FIFA's Forward Enterprise (FFE) scheme, but the proposal has been shelved after fierce opposition from UEFA, the FA and CONCACAF.
The plan would have seen FIFA sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors. Member associations reportedly threatened to boycott the competition had it been green-lighted.
According to The Times, Infantino stood to pocket tens of millions of pounds through FFE, which has since had a pin put in it. UEFA has said it lost faith in FIFA's leadership despite the plan being shut down.
UEFA and FA hit out
In a statement, UEFA said: "We cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game. We must identify those responsible and hold them to account. It is right that, in the coming days and weeks, UEFA will work with its associations and in close cooperation with other confederations to reflect on how this happened and devise a plan to make sure that it cannot occur again. That review should be thorough and fundamental. No option should be off the table. The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA's confidence, but also that of many other members of the football family."
The Football Association backed UEFA's position. A spokesperson said: "We fully support UEFA's position. It is time for a full and robust review of FIFA's leadership and governance to ensure that the global game is run transparently, for the benefit of all 211 member nations and with the long-term stewardship of football at its heart."
CONCACAF demands reckoning
CONCACAF, meanwhile, called for a "comprehensive reckoning" of Infantino's presidency. The confederation said: "It is a symptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first. This recent unilateral and egregious act of poor governance and leadership follows a pattern of missteps and similar behaviour."
Salary claims and FIFA response
While Infantino maintained that the FFE concept was only a consultation exercise, sources familiar with the scheme claimed the real aim was for the FIFA president to become chief executive or commissioner. That role would have earned him roughly £22.2m a year, excluding bonuses.
FIFA disputes claims that such an arrangement was ever discussed. Infantino said the project was intended to strengthen member associations and support football worldwide, but acknowledged it had created divisions.
In a statement, Infantino said: "The FFE project was intended to provide a basis for further strengthening our FIFA member associations and our sport worldwide, especially in those countries where support is most needed. And, as we said from the outset, to do this only if a majority of the member associations were in support and always subject to a consultation process with them, the FIFA council, the confederations and wider stakeholders. Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place. Our purpose has always been - and will always be - to unite and improve. As a result, this proposal will not proceed. Moving forward, my intent is to bring all interested parties back together in the coming days and weeks in the spirit of shared interest in our game, and with the objective to continue growing football everywhere, particularly in those countries that mostly need our support."
