FIFA would make a "terrible mistake" if it removed Gianni Infantino from the post of head of world football. This was warned by US President Donald Trump, quoted by "The Guardian".
Infantino is under pressure after his failed plan to sell shares of the rights to the men's World Cup to private investors.
On his social network Truth Social in the early hours of today, Trump indicated that removing the FIFA president would be a mistake that would be costly.
The US president wrote: "FIFA would make a terrible mistake if for any reason it even considered replacing President Gianni Infantino. He is fantastic and has just led the most successful World Cup ever, four times more successful than any other. If he leaves, it will never be as successful or profitable again!".
UEFA and two other confederations have held preliminary talks about organising their own competitions amid mounting pressure on the embattled FIFA president.
European football's governing body, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and CONCACAF, which governs football in the Caribbean, North and Central America, have accused Infantino of "fraud". While it is believed they want to give him the opportunity to resign and leave his post with dignity without running for another term in March next year, they also want to protect themselves from the growing crisis.
UEFA has already threatened to boycott FIFA competitions.
Infantino has apologised for his proposal to set up Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) - a company to manage the commercial and operational aspects of FIFA tournaments, with the idea being to sell around 20% of the company to private investors.
But in an open letter signed by the heads of UEFA, AFC and CONCACAF, they called on FIFA to conduct an independent investigation into Infantino's scheme, without naming the Swiss himself directly.
"Leadership in football is not ownership. It is not about holding - or demanding - power to be withheld. It is a duty to serve the football community that has entrusted you with that power.
When trust is broken through deceit, when an individual places themselves above the collective that has entrusted them with power, that duty has been abandoned.