Former legendary Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger may consider running for the FIFA presidency..

The Athletic reported exclusively on Tuesday that former legendary Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger may consider running for the FIFA presidency.

According to the report, with the November 18 deadline for FIFA presidency nominations fast approaching, Wenger has recently been lobbied by several major stakeholders in the football industry, including members within the UEFA structure, to enter the race.

As the calls for his candidacy grow, Wenger has decided to give the matter serious consideration, though his own personal intentions remain unknown.

Should he decide to run, the 77-year-old former Arsenal manager would likely be required to step down from his current role as FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development.

If he enters the fray, the Frenchman, who spent decades at the helm of the Premier League giants, would become the third person to publicly declare his candidacy.

In mid-October, former Tottenham Hotspur defender and Swiss international Ramon Vega became the first individual to announce his intention to run.

Last Thursday (November 5), Japan Football Association President Kōzō Tashima also announced his candidacy, becoming the fourth Asian figure to join the race for the FIFA presidency.

Since leaving the Gunners, Wenger has held his current position at FIFA since 2019. During his tenure, he has spearheaded numerous technical reforms, including the implementation of semi-automated offside technology (SAOT), adjustments to offside rules, and initiatives to bolster youth and grassroots football development.

Notably, Wenger was among the high-ranking FIFA officials who claimed to be completely unaware of the "FIFA Forward Enterprise" (FFE) project, a plan reportedly conceived by the organization to sell minority stakes in its commercial and tournament operations (including the men’s and women’s World Cups) to private investors.

In a previous interview with French media outlet, Wenger admitted that, like everyone else, he only learned of President Gianni Infantino’s plans after reading about it in the press like everyone else. 

This plan is also one of the primary reasons why Infantino has angered many within the football community, to the point where calls for his resignation have grown increasingly loud.

Meanwhile, ever since Infantino unilaterally announced the aforementioned proposal, only to later abandon the FFE project following intense criticism, Wenger has seemingly made a deliberate effort to distance himself from him.

Not long ago, Wenger pointedly absented himself from the FIFA Board's Meeting which was held in Morocco. Although the two later crossed paths in Azerbaijan during the U15s FIFA World Cup and its subsequent festival, reporters on the scene described their interaction as visibly and highly awkward.

Image source: Internet / The Athletic