Nasser Al-Khelaifi has ruled out any bid to succeed Gianni Infantino as FIFA president in the 2027 elections, brushing aside mounting talk that he would be the ideal candidate with backing from UEFA.
One of the Qatari's official spokespersons issued the denial, responding to reports in the British media, including "Politico" and "The Telegraph", that named him as a UEFA-backed candidate for the FIFA presidency. The spokesperson said: "Mr Al-Khelaifi has no ambition, intention or interest in this position at FIFA, nor in all this media noise. On the contrary, he will continue his support, in a wise and constructive manner, for all global and European football institutions."
A European candidate to thwart Infantino's plan
The British reports had cast Al-Khelaifi as an ideal successor to Infantino, especially with FIFA gripped by crisis over the Swiss president's plan to create a commercial company linked to the international federation.
His potential candidacy, according to those reports, is designed to derail Infantino's latest project. UEFA have opposed it fiercely, going as far as to threaten a World Cup boycott in protest at the controversial plan.
A firmly established position within European institutions
President of Paris Saint-Germain since 2011, Al-Khelaifi holds a firmly established position within European football's institutions and has sat on the UEFA Executive Committee for many years. He also chairs the European Football Clubs (EFC), formerly the European Club Association (ECA), which represents more than 850 clubs across the continent.
His closeness to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin makes him, in many eyes, a natural candidate to lead FIFA should Europe want to reclaim control of the international federation.
The European Football Clubs condemns Infantino's project
The European Football Clubs (EFC), chaired by Al-Khelaifi, waded in with a press statement of their own, saying they had watched "with great concern the sudden and unilateral press statements" issued by FIFA over the controversial commercial project.
That statement is just one of many condemnations aimed at Infantino's project, which seeks to open FIFA up to private sector investors. European football circles see it as a threat to the future of the game and its traditional values.