Portugal's Luís Figo goes for top job at Fifa

Portuguese footballing legend Luís Figo has put himself forward as a candidate to become the next Fifa president, replacing the discredited Sepp Blatter.

Figo, whose career took him to Sporting Lisbon, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan, with 127 appearances for Portugal, will be up against David Ginola in the race to the top of the football world’s governing body.

Sepp Blatter has run Fifa since 1998 and wants to continue but recent corruption allegations and reports leave him vulnerable to ousting.

Figo said today that "Football has given me so much during my life and I want to give something back to the game," adding that the game deserves better as its image deteriorates under the current leadership.   

“As I speak to many people in football, to players, managers and association presidents, so many of those people have told me that something has to be done."

Fellow Portuguese national José Mourinho fully supports Figo’s bid, saying "Luís Figo's candidacy is a great step forward for football. His career over many years would give a better future for Fifa. I believe in his character and determination, as well as his passion for the game. He will be a president focused on football and on its general improvement, acting closely with all federations."

Figo moved from Barcelona to Real Madrid for a then record fee of €50 million and has wide ranging business interests including in property development in the Algarve and elsewhere.

All the candidates must get their names registered before the end of tomorrow. Figo joins Jerome Champagne, Prince Ali of Jordan, and Michael van Praag in the contest, all of whom must pass an anti-corruption test.

In May 2014, Figo and Brazil managers Luis Scolari were implicated in an illegal payments probe as part of an investigation into failed bank BPN.

The Bank of Portugal suspected that the Portuguese Business Bank (BPN) was used to funnel cash to various people, including Scolari and Figo, through an offshore account in the name of Marzion, a company registered in Wyoming USA

This account was held by BPN property subsidiary Galilei, itself implicated in a range of BPN's less honest operations.

By using the Wyoming route between 2003 and 2008, Scolari is alleged to have received huge sums relating to image rights and the Attorney General's Office suspected Scolari of tax evasion on a grand scale.

It appears that the scams were not restricted to Scolari as other sporting personalities and managers received payments through the Wyoming route, Luís Figo being one of them.

Marizion was allegedly used to pay money to clients who held ‘investment accounts’ and when the company was wound as BPN went bust, the money held by Marzion was transferred to Jared Financial in the USA.

An estimated €600 million was moved through these ‘investment accounts’ and the companies involved ended up showing losses of more than €31 million.

These allegations have yet to be proven in court and it will be interesting to see if Figo passes the corruption test with tax evasion suspicions hanging over him.

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