Sepp Blatter, who is expected to be re-elected as Fifa president for a fifth term on Friday, likened himself to a Swiss mountain goat on Sunday, famed for its stubborn endurance.

Blatter will face a challenge for the presidency from the Jordanian Prince Ali bin Al Hussein at the Fifa Congress on Friday after two other contenders, Michael van Praag of the Netherlands and Luis Figo of Portugal, pulled out of the contest on Thursday.

They collectively represented those who think Blatter should quit after so many years in the job but Blatter told the NZZ newspaper in an interview: “I am a mountain goat that keeps going and going and going, I cannot be stopped, I just keep going.”

Blatter, who will be 80 next year, said in the interview that he “is a simple, devout man” and that the first thing he always does when he returns to his home town of Visp, where he was born, is to visit the family grave.

He said two weeks ago, he “connected” with his deceased mother, who bid him to join her. He said: “I’m doing well, it is not time yet.”

Blatter was first elected Fifa president in 1998 and is expected to be re-elected by an overwhelming majority of Fifa’s 209 member associations when the secret ballot takes place at Zurich’s Hallenstadion.

Meanwhile Argentina’s beloved former striker and manager Diego Maradona has launched a scathing personal attack on Blatter before this week’s election.

Writing for the Telegraph, the 1986 World Cup winner said: “Under Sepp Blatter Fifa has become a disgrace and a painful embarrassment to those of us who care about football deeply.

“While I find almost no one openly supporting Blatter, many think he will win a fifth term. Why? The whole notion of a fifth term is an absurdity in 2015.

“No one has argued that he is the best man for the job and deserves to win.

“Recently he pledged to follow through in addressing racism in football and promoting women in the sport. That made me laugh. My question is: ‘Sepp, what were you doing in your last four terms?’

“We have a dictator for life. I call Blatter ‘the man of ice’ because he lacks the inspiration and passion that are at the very heart of football. If this is the face of international football, we are in a very bad place.”