UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin hit out at his critics and "nonsense projects of so-called super leagues" as he announced he would not run for a fourth term in 2027.
Ceferin revealed he would step down at the end of his current presidency only minutes after a UEFA Congress vote had given him the chance to stand for a fourth time in 2027 - as he did not serve the full length of his first term, when he took over after Michel Platini was forced to resign in 2016.
The head of UEFA came to power eight years ago on a platform of reform, and himself introduced measures limiting senior executives to serving a maximum of three terms in their roles.
That led to criticism in recent months as speculation rose he was intending to run again, but speaking on Thursday, the 56-year-old said he had made the decision to stand down last summer due to the time he was spending away from his family.
He said he had kept the news private - and allowed the vote to proceed - as he "wanted to see the real face of some people", in a speech where he also took aim at former UEFA chief of football Zvonimir Boban without explicitly naming him.
Boban resigned his position on January 25 in protest at what he described as ongoing plans for the current president to serve a fourth term, and in an open letter published in the Croatian press labelled them "disastrous".
Addressing the continent's media following the vote, Ceferin said: "I could legally run until 2031, the congress decided to vote in the change and that's how serious organisations work.
"The statutes had to be changed or term limits would not exist at all. I am a lawyer, and articles were written about me - it was strange that I didn't get any questions.
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