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Ex-Portuguese international, Luis Figo has pulled out of the race to bec FIFA’s next president. He released a statement on Thursday, saying that the electoral process had been skewed to favour the incumbent – Sepp Blatter.
His words:“This (election) process is a plebiscite for the delivery of absolute power to one man—something I refuse to go along with. That is why, after a personal reflection and sharing views with two other candidates in this process, I believe that what is going to happen on May 29 in Zurich is not a normal electoral act. “And because it is not, don’t count on me”.
The former Barcelona and Real Madrid midfielder joins Michael van Praag, who also wthdrew on Thursday, leaving Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan as Blatter’s only rival.
Blatter is favourite to win a fifth term as president
Each of Fifa’s 209 member associations have a vote in the election and Van Praag, who is president of the Dutch football federation, says he will now support Prince Ali.
The English Football Association also intend to support Prince Ali, while the Scottish FA had previously said they would support Van Praag.