Michel Platini has confessed there was no written contract between himself and outgoing FIFA president Sepp Blatter for an alleged disloyal payment which resulted in the pair s suspension from the organisation.
Last week, Blatter called a reported two million Swiss franc payment to Platini in 2011 for work the Frenchman claims he carried out for FIFA between 1999 and 2002 a gentleman s agreement .
The transaction is the subject of a criminal investigation by the Swiss attorney general.
On October 8, the pair were provisionally suspended for 90 days by FIFA s Ethics Committee.
Platini says he undertook a verbal agreement due to the trust he had for his colleague.
For a long time I had neither a lawyer nor an agent to negotiate for me and it was a man-to-man thing, he said in an interview with Le Monde.
He was to become FIFA president – I trusted him.
The 60-year-old revealed the details of the work he undertook for the alleged payment.
I worked on the reform of the global competition calendar, on the Goal Project – a device to aid and support to poorer federations within FIFA worldwide, Platini explained.
And I accompanied Blatter in many of his travels. In short, I really worked and many people can testify to that.
Platini described the situation as shameful and feels his name has been sullied by association.
I was suspended for three months but what annoys me the most is to put in the same bag as the others. I find it shameful to be dragged through the mud, he said.
My lawyers follow FIFA procedures and will invoke the Court of Arbitration for Sport if necessary.
I hope that all this will go quickly.
