Gianni Infantino tried to sell a slice of the World Cup's future profits to private investors, and the men who run European football just told him in writing that they will see him in court. UEFA's threat of legal action, confirmed this week, is not a strongly worded letter. It is the continent that generates the largest share of FIFA's actual football telling the man who runs FIFA's spreadsheet that he does not own what he tried to sell. The plan folded once fifty-five federations ran their own numbers on it. This is the sequel: UEFA making sure the idea does not quietly resurface in a side deal.

Trace the capital and the fight makes sense immediately. A stake sale in "future World Cup profits" is a claim on broadcast and sponsorship revenue that does not exist yet, priced today, sold to investors who want a fixed return on a tournament UEFA's clubs supply the players for, at their own release-window expense, every four years. UEFA is not defending a principle. It is defending a claim on the same future cash flow, and it just got there first with lawyers instead of a proposal. FIFA has not named a date to respond. UEFA has already named its terms: stop, or see us in court.