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Berne — Former Portugal forward Luis Figo pulled out of the Fifa presidential election race yesterday, hours after Dutchman Michael van Praag had also withdrawn.

“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,” he said on his Facebook page.

“And because it is not, don’t count on me.”

Van Praag on Wednesday announced he was dropping his bid for the world football body’s presidency, saying he will back Jordan’s Prince Ali bin al Hussein instead against incumbent Sepp Blatter.

“After thorough deliberation and reflection with different involved parties and stakeholders, Michael van Praag decided to withdraw his candidacy to become the next Fifa president,” his public relations team said in a statement.

Van Praag will now “join forces with presidential candidate Prince Ali bin al Hussein,” said the statement, issued from Amsterdam. Van Praag, 67, was to give a news conference at 1800 GMT at an Amsterdam hotel to explain his decision and Prince Ali was also to make a statement.

Dutch football boss Van Praag was one of three challengers to long-time Fifa president Blatter and were said to be facing an uphill battle to dethrone the Swiss veteran in an election on May 29.

Van Praag, a former Ajax chairman announced his candidacy in January, saying he wanted to modernise the world governing body “which has lost all credibility.”

The election will be held at the Fifa Congress in Zurich on May 29. The winner will need a majority from Fifa’s 209 member federations. — AFP