At the time of blowing his 70 candles, Michel Platini has chosen to speak true. In an interview with the Italian daily La Stampa, the former number 10 of the Blues and Juventus returns without eyeshadow on his trial linked to FIFA, an episode which he still has not digested. Acquitled by Swiss justice after years of relentlessness, Platini retains an intact bitter: “I came out bleached, but my enemies still won. They stole me ten years of life. »» Behind the champion's smile, the injury remains lively. The former playmaker does not hide his bitterness: it was not the money that counted, but the time that was removed, the sidelining calculated to prevent him from accessing the presidency of FIFA. In his eyes, this chapter remains a huge mess.
Platini wants to be peaceful, however, without looking for revenge. He recalls that his relatives never doubted his innocence.
“No one at home believed that I was responsible for something. »» He now considers having turned the page and no longer targets any responsibility in football: “I am too old to run for new roles. »» But, while its name still resonates around the world, the FIFA page remains written in bitter ink. The relief of the acquittal does not erase the feeling of an orchestrated injustice, nor the certainty of having been sacrificed on the altar of power games.
Platini has forgotten nothing about the FIFA affair
Over the course of the interview, Platini also lets his nostalgia speak. He evokes Juventus, a club that has “Growing up”and to whom he offered one of his golden balls as a sign of gratitude towards Gianni Agnelli. He remembers with emotion with his missing friends, Paolo Rossi and Gaetano Scirea, and mythical figures of the old lady, Bonipeti and Trapattoni. Impossible, according to him, to summarize five Turin years to a single memory as the moments of happiness mix with the tragedy of Heysel: “It is difficult to talk about such a painful page, thinking of all these supporters who have never returned home. »»
Platini, between nostalgia and confessions
Platini also confides his sadness in the face of the modernity of football. According to him, the Bosman decision has “Killed philosophy” of the game: “Today, you need money to earn, as the PSG or Manchester City routes prove. »» He remembers the simplicity of his time, the feeling of belonging to a large family, far from the purely financial issues.
At 70, Michel Platini gives himself up without eyeshadows: the champion has not lost his lucidity, nor of his ability to denounce what does not turn round. But he advances, faithful to his vision of football, recognizing with those who helped him become a legend. If justice has given him his honor, passion and frankness are intact.
