An official statement from three Argentine legends in support of Infantino

The support came in tandem with the criticism directed at the FIFA president.

With the FIFA elections looming in March 2027, three Argentine legends have thrown their weight behind Gianni Infantino, president of the international federation.

Javier Pastore, Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso issued a joint statement defending the FIFA president's record, cutting through the growing controversy over how the game's world governing body is run.

The three former Argentina internationals praised the bigger role handed to players since Infantino took the reins.

They wrote on their Instagram accounts: "Over the past decade, we have witnessed the commitment of FIFA and President Infantino to ensuring the representation of players in the world of football, something that did not exist before."

Current and former players now enjoy "a voice that is heard and an active role", they say, through their involvement in various committees, projects and working groups.

The show of support lands amid mounting opposition to Infantino. Several former internationals have recently called for a change at the top of FIFA, including the Frenchmen Mikaël Silvestre, Emmanuel Petit, Robert Pirès, Olivier Dacourt, Louis Saha, Frédéric Piquionne and Jessica Houara-D'Hommeaux.

Pastore, Zanetti and Cambiasso, by contrast, defend the organisation's current structure against that opposition. "Our views are heard, and many initiatives beneficial to football are taking shape thanks to our contributions, ideas, projects and active participation," they said.

It is a weighty public endorsement for Infantino, arriving just as the criticism piles up and the battle over the future of FIFA's administration heats up.