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GIANNI INFANTINO JABS BRITISH FANS & DEFENDS 2026 WORLD CUP TICKET PRICES AT WEF

Gianni Infantino defends high 2026 World Cup ticket prices and jokes about British fan behaviour during his 2026 Davos WEF speech.

Gianni Infantino jabs British fans & defends 2026 World Cup ticket prices at WEF
"Make cheap tickets, not cheap jokes": Fans fire back at FIFA’s Infantino

FIFA president Gianni Infantino took a strange swipe at British football fans during a speech on Thursday, just months before England and Scotland fans descend on the 2026 World Cup.

Even if England or Scotland don’t qualify, their fans will show up in force—especially the Scots, who haven’t been to a World Cup since 1998. For them, just being there is a celebration. You can bet they’ll soak up every minute.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s already stirred up trouble ahead of the tournament, and there’s pressure on the home nations to make some big calls.

At the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Infantino gave three speeches. At one point, he held up a football and said, “This isn’t a ball. Let me show you... This is a magic instrument that transforms people into happy people. Pass the ball around, and you’ll see—suddenly, everyone’s smiling. Kids light up. Grown-ups turn into kids again. People start playing, passing it, and you see smiles all over the place. It’s fantastic. It’s beautiful.”

Then he added, “For the first time, no Brit was arrested during the World Cup. Imagine that! That’s something really, really special. It was a celebration, a party. And the next one, in the US, Canada, and Mexico, will be just the same. Sure, the world’s divided. But we all need to support peace, to come together. That’s what football does.”

Infantino Didn’t Hold Back About Ticket Prices, Either

People hammered FIFA for making World Cup tickets so expensive, and Infantino didn’t let that slide. He said, “The tickets aren’t cheap. I got hammered for that, especially by critics in Germany and England. But now, the top ticket requests come from the US, then Germany, then England—everyone wants to be there.”

FIFA claims they’ve had 500 million ticket requests in the latest window. They haven’t said how those requests break down across the 104 matches or ticket categories. Still, Infantino insists there won’t be any empty seats: “Every match will be sold out.”

CRISTIANO RONALDO PROTESTS AL-HILAL'S BENZEMA DEAL BY SKIPPING AL-NASSR LEAGUE MATCH

Cristiano Ronaldo is fuming. Discover why the Al-Nassr star skipped his last match and is now threatening to leave Saudi Arabia.

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Ronaldo "considering leaving Saudi Arabia" despite signing 2027 contract extension

Cristiano Ronaldo has been the main attraction in the Saudi Pro League ever since he landed in the Middle East three years ago. Now, for the first time, it looks like he’s actually thinking about leaving. He’s frustrated. He feels the playing field isn’t level, and it’s starting to get to him.

Here’s the deal: Four clubs in the league—Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, and Al-Ahli—get their backing straight from the state. But Ronaldo sat out Al-Nassr’s match against Al-Riyadh on Monday night. Why? He was protesting. He found out Al-Hilal was about to sign Karim Benzema from Al-Ittihad, and that was the last straw. From Ronaldo’s perspective, Al-Hilal keeps getting more freedom to splash cash than everyone else. They’re the current champions, and Ronaldo still hasn’t managed to win his first Saudi title.

Saudi officials tried to calm him down. According to Diario AS, they reached out and argued that most of Al-Hilal’s extra spending comes from Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, not the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Al-Hilal just brought in Kader Meite for €30 million, Saimon Bouabre for €23 million, and now Benzema. Al-Nassr, on the other hand, only managed two free transfers this winter. Sure, they spent a lot more in the summer, but that didn’t seem to matter to Ronaldo.

Reports from Portugal, cited by AS, say Ronaldo’s not ruling anything out—not even leaving Saudi Arabia this summer. That’s despite just signing an extension with Al-Nassr until 2027.

And honestly, he has a point. Since he arrived, Al-Hilal have spent €647 million, while Al-Nassr have shelled out €410 million and Al-Ittihad €365 million. These numbers probably don’t include salaries—and let’s face it, nobody’s making more than Ronaldo. He’s supposed to return on Friday when Al-Nassr face Al-Ittihad, but right now, no one really knows if he’ll play or if he’s planning his next move.

N’GOLO KANTE SKIPS TRAINING AS AL-ITTIHAD BLOCK HIS MOVE TO FENERBAHCE OFFICIALLY

N’Golo Kante has gone on strike at Al-Ittihad after a paperwork error blocked his move to Fenerbahce. Can he still sign by Friday?

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Paperwork error halts N’Golo Kante’s transfer to Turkey at final hour

N’Golo Kanté didn’t show up for Al-Ittihad training on Tuesday, and it’s not hard to see why. He was all set to head to Fenerbahçe, but the deal fell apart at the last minute—apparently because Al-Ittihad messed up some paperwork. Kante was supposed to fly to Istanbul and sign, but thanks to this administrative slip, he’s stuck in limbo. There’s still a shot at reviving the transfer sinceKanté Turkey’s transfer window stays open until Friday, February 6.

Kante was one of the first big European names to jump to the Saudi Pro League, joining Al-Ittihad in 2023 after seven years with Chelsea. He’s been a key player in Jeddah, helping Al-Ittihad win the 2024-25 league title and the King’s Cup.

Then, in the middle of the January window, word got out that Fenerbahce wanted him. The Turkish club were eager to add a World Cup winner to their squad. The plan was to swap Kante for Youssef En-Nesyri, who’d head to Saudi Arabia. Everything seemed set until deadline day, when news broke that an error by Al-Ittihad in the Transfer Matching System stopped the transfer cold.

Fenerbahce didn’t hold back. They blamed Al-Ittihad directly, saying they’d done everything right: agreements with the players, medicals, paperwork, all wrapped up on time. But Al-Ittihad entered something wrong in the system, and that was that. Fenerbahçe even asked for an extension and reached out to FIFA, but nothing moved. In the end, the deal died, and Fenerbahçe put out a statement saying they understood the frustration and would keep working to strengthen the squad.

Meanwhile, Kante’s making his feelings clear. According to Ben Jacobs, he skipped training on Tuesday, still hoping the move to Fenerbahce can happen. Santi Aouna says talks between the clubs aren’t dead yet. L’Equipe is reporting that Kanté doesn’t want to play for Al-Ittihad while he waits for FIFA’s decision. With the Turkish window open until Friday, there’s still a glimmer of hope for Kante, though En-Nesyri’s move is off the table for now.

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