Monday 19 October 2015 14:35, UK
Michel Platini believes he is "bullet proof" insisting he has not lost support in his bid to replace Sepp Blatter as the head of FIFA.
The UEFA president's chances of taking over the equivalent post at the world governing body appeared to be in tatters after he was handed a 90-day ban from all footballing activity earlier this month.
The Frenchman, along with Blatter and secretary general Jerome Valcke, were suspended by FIFA's ethics committee as it continues its investigation into their conduct.
Speaking to French newspaper Le Monde on Monday he confirmed he had no written contract for the £1.35m payment he received from FIFA in 2011 while explaining why he could not be paid in full over a decade ago.
Platini submitted his FIFA election application papers before being suspended and hopes that his provisional ban will be lifted by the FIFA appeals committee or Court of Arbitration for Sport to allow him to run.
"I think it's shameful to be dragged through the mud," he said, insisting the case was not a scandal. "I don't think I've lost many votes and those who know me know I can look myself in the mirror. I am bullet proof."
"What annoys me most is to have been lumped in with the others," said Platini, who joins a long list of past and current colleagues on the FIFA executive committee who have been implicated in corruption allegations.
Platini told Le Monde that Blatter, newly elected as FIFA's president in 1998, asked him to name his salary to work as a personal adviser.
"The story may seem surprising, but that is that," said Platini. "In 1998, I was president of the World Cup organising committee and a new FIFA president was due to be elected.
"He asked me to be his advisor on football. It was agreed. 'How much do you want?', asked Blatter. I answer, 'A million'. 'Of what?' 'From what you want - roubles, books, dollars?'. At this time, there is not yet the euro. He responds, "Okay, one million Swiss francs per year' (£670,000)."
The 60-year-old has previously said FIFA did not pay him in full at the time because of the governing body's financial problems. He added that Blatter suggested FIFA's salary policy prevented him from having a contract that paid the Frenchman more than then secretary general Michel Zen-Ruffinen.
"I worked for several months without pay," Platini said. "After a while, I go see Blatter: 'You have a problem paying me?' He says: 'Yes, I can't pay you 1 million because of the wage structure. You must understand that the secretary general gets 300,000 Swiss francs.
"You can't get more than three times his salary. So we'll write you a contract for 300,000 Swiss francs and pay the rest later.' And that's what happened. Only later never arrived.
"I am not a money man. For a long time I didn't have a lawyer or agent. And it was a man-to-man thing. Anyway, he was going to be president of FIFA. I trusted him. Anyway, I've since learned that under Swiss law, an oral contract is considered a written contract."
Platini said he invoiced FIFA for two million Swiss francs in 2011 because he mistakenly recalled that he had been paid 500,000 Swiss francs annually at the time, and not 300,000. FIFA paid Platini in February 2011, weeks ahead of a presidential contest between Blatter and Mohamed bin Hammam of Qatar, who both sought Platini's endorsement.
Asked why he waited nine years to be paid, Platini, who played 72 times for France between 1976-1987, added: "I stopped working for him in June 2002 when I entered the executive committee of FIFA. I did not ask for the money because I didn't need it. I should have asked him for an IOU and none of this would have happened.
"But I did get in touch with FIFA to ask if they owed me money and they said yes. I sent an invoice at their request. And there, I was wrong in my calculations. I do not remember that I had been paid 300,000 Swiss francs, I thought it was 500,000 and he owed me a remedial 500,000 four years.
"So I sent an invoice (for) two million. I was paid 10 days later without any difficulty. FIFA do and I paid my own expenses and taxes on that amount, quite normally. Frankly, if there was any doubt, FIFA refused to pay me and I would have also been very annoyed because beyond five years, there are prescription and can refuse to honour a debt."
On the 2022 World Cup being awarded to Qatar, Platini, who has revealed he will limit his time in office at FIFA to two terms if elected - insisting he is the 'only footballer popular enough to win' - says the time was right to take the tournament to a new country.
"I voted for Qatar because I wanted the World Cup to take place in the Gulf region, somewhere which has never had a World Cup, somewhere there is extraordinary interest in football," he said.
"It will take place in winter and it will be a beautiful World Cup. My only regret is that it can't be in all the Gulf countries."
And despite his differences with Blatter, the Frenchman admits he retains 'a little affection' for the 79-year-old.
"I admired his policy," the three-time Ballon d'Or winner said. "He has a lot of charm and I can say that I was somehow bewitched. Even if he wants to kill me politically, I still have a little affection for what we experienced together."
The 90-day suspension can also be extended by a further 45 days, taking it up until just six days before the FIFA presidential election is due on February 26.
Platini, however, insists he is the only man capable of turning things around from the top.
"I am the only one who can ensure that FIFA again becomes the home of football," he said. "But, whenever I approach the sun, like Icarus, it burns everywhere."
