Former Barcelona and Brazil striker Romario is not known for mincing his words, especially not when talking about the 2014 World Cup in his home country.
The 47-year-old, now a Congressman, was in typically defiant mood in an interview with the New York Times, which dealt with next summer's tournament and the role of FIFA.
"They are robbing the Brazilian people," he said of the organisation.
“FIFA got what it came for: money. Things like transportation that affect the public after the tournament is over? They don’t care. They don’t care about what is going to be left behind.
“They found a way to get rich on the World Cup and they robbed the people instead. This is the real shame.”
Romario also didn't spare his former international teammates Ronaldo and Bebeto, who are on the World Cup organising committee, from criticism.
"Either Ronaldo and Bebeto aren’t aware of what is going on, or they are pretending they aren’t aware of what is going on. Either way, it is ignorant.”
Finally, the former World Cup winner predicted that next summer there would be a repeat of the mass public demonstrations that took place during the Confederations Cup.
And, alluding to the disparity between spending on stadiums for the World Cup and health and education expenditure, he put himself firmly on the side of the protesters.
“Not only do I think they will return, I think they should return,. There will be a World Cup here next year, we know that. But this, these demonstrations, is the way you make politicians wake up.
“This is the way you make people think about whether or not they are going to rob you again tomorrow.
“There’s no good schools, there’s no good hospitals — how can there be a World Cup?”
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