KEIR RADNEDGE in PARIS —- As a goal-greedy forward of tantalising talent, Michel Platini’s greatest and most rewarding gift – on behalf of France, Nancy, Saint-Etienne and Juventus – was his timing.

That innate sporting genius, beyond explanation, brought him ?269 goals for clubs and country over 15 years and 10 major national and international prizes as well as a hat-trick of European Footballer awards.

Platini may now be 63 but he has not lost his touch.

The one-time vice-president of FIFA and eight-year head of Europe’s UEFA chose the eve of the world governing body’s congress in his own, French capital to lay on the line his abiding bitterness and anger at the men and the system which, he insists, betrayed him.

Platini and then FIFA president Sepp Blatter – the man whose job Platini coveted above all else – were both banned in late 2015 over a laughably delayed $2m payment for services rendered back at the turn of the new century.

Suspensions

Blatter was banned for six years and Platini for eight, reduced on appeal to four. He fought vainly to reclaim his innocence at both Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne and the Swiss Federal Supreme Court in Bern.

From the sidelines Blatter occasionally snipes at his FIFA successor and Swiss neighbour Gianni Infantino. But no-one takes much notice. Blatter is a relic of the FIFA Museum of Horrible History, is 83 years old and in fragile health.

But Platini is different. His ban expires in October. He can then, in theory, return to the game even if the presidencies are beyond him. Infantino, Platini’s old general secretary at UEFA, could stay in power until 2031 if he wishes and he plays his political and FIFA-financial cards right.

Indeed, it may be the very security which Infantino enjoys – he will be re-elected unopposed on Wednesday morning – which fans the flames of the anger Platini expressed to a media round table at the start of Parisian week which features not only FIFA Congress but Friday’s kickoff to the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

He said: “Gianni Infantino was a very good lawyer, a very good general secretary, but he has no legitimacy, no credibility as president of FIFA. He vomited all over FIFA for 10 years. Maybe I exaggerate a little but everyone knows he was always criticising FIFA.

“[Also], how can he come here to promote women’s football when he was always making a joke of it? He never believed in it.”

Infantino was promoted to stand for the FIFA presidency by the UEFA executive committee after Platini’s banishment. He was the pretender to the throne Platini coveted and now he has become the king instead of his old boss.

The only cloud over Infantino’s command is judicial concern in Switzerland over a number of meetings he undertook with the Attorney-General, Michael Lauber, whose job is on the line because of their apparently clandestine nature.

Swiss connections

Platini has never blamed Infantino for his fall but he has no love for intra-Swiss machinations.

He said: “They’re all neighbours, between Zurich and Bern. There’s a great friendship between Swiss Germans, Swiss Italians, Swiss Swiss and I don’t know what else. But I don’t imagine for a minute, after everything I did for him, that Infantino worked against me . . . You can add that I said that with a smile.”

Platini has turned legal aggressor while awaiting October.

He has registered a first complaint in France against “person or persons unknown” who notified the Swiss authorities about the delayed payment; a second complaint against a former FIFA ethics committee spokesman for defamation; a third against the spokesman for the Swiss Attornet-General; and a fourth on his own behalf with the European Court of Human Rights.

This is not the first time Platini has let fly and it would be fair to says that no-one at Infantino’s ‘New FIFA’ is concerned. For them, Platini ishistory.

Still, while he has effectively ruled out ever returning to an establishment role, he clearly still harbours ambitions to meddle.

Earlier this year Platini devised a plan to bring together the top clubs’ body, ECA, and the players’ union, FIFPro. His idea was “that they could work with each other and decide whether they wanted to continue with the Champions League or some other competition.”

Platini had high hopes after discussing his idea with fellow Frenchman Philippe Piat, head of FIFPro, and Andrea Agnelli, president of his old Italian fiefdom of Juventus. But he was to be disappointed: “They all said they would get back to me and never did.”

Still, the message is clear: Michel Platini intends to play out extra time.

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