Diego Maradona has accused FIFA president Sepp Blatter of allowing the game's governing body to descend into "total anarchy" and backed Jordanian candidate Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein to replace him.
Blatter said in December that FIFA had been in "crisis" -- though he said it had now passed -- after a period in which the organisation had come under heavy fire over the voting for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Blatter remains strong favourite to win the FIFA presidential vote on May 29, but he faces competition from Prince Ali, Michael van Praag and Luis Figo, and Argentina great Maradona hopes the 79-year-old -- who first took charge in 1998 -- is ousted.
"As the football world knows, inside FIFA there is total anarchy," Maradona said at the Soccerex conference in Jordan. "There is only one man who decides everything, but he knows absolutely nothing.
"Therefore it is time for a change and it is so because even his colleagues should actually advise him to leave.
"He has done a lot of damage to football since he has been there. It's time for him to step aside and let us, who are full of strength, rebuild football, which is getting weaker and more corrupt."
Maradona backed Prince Ali's candidature, saying: "If I didn't believe that he would be a good president, I wouldn't be here [in Jordan].
"Without any doubt whatsoever, Blatter is scared. Blatter is scared. He's scared of being left out of his share of the cake. That is what really annoys someone like me, who has played in four World Cups. I know what it feels like running after a ball. Blatter has been chasing Champagne."
Blatter, who is seeking his fifth term in the role, has already been told he has the unanimous backing of African nations, with Confederation of African Football president Issa Hayatou saying all 54 nations would vote for the Swiss.
That would put Blatter in a commanding position as he seeks a majority of the 209 votes, but Figo said last month that he did not believe all African nations would vote as announced.
"I'm positive that Mr Hayatou did not speak in the name of the 54 members of the confederation," Figo said. "Even when he announced he would support Blatter, we could notice a difference from past congresses when a statement like that normally is followed by a standing ovation.
"This time we heard just a normal applause, which confirms my idea that a lot of African countries understand and agree with the need to change for the better of everyone, especially the national associations.
"In fact there were federation presidents who assured me they would vote for me but they were reluctant to say this out loud because they feared reactions against them, their federations and even their countries."