Michel Platini
- In full:
- Michel François Platini
- Born:
- June 21, 1955, Joeuf, France (age 69)
- Also Known As:
- Michel François Platini
Michel Platini (born June 21, 1955, Joeuf, France) is a French professional football (soccer) player and administrator who was named the European Footballer of the Year three times (1983–85) and served as president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA; 2007–16).
Platini made his French first-division debut with AS Nancy in 1973. A prolific attacking midfielder, he led the club to a French Cup championship in 1978 and then joined Saint-Étienne the following year. He helped his new team win a league title in 1981, and in 1982 he transferred to Juventus of Italy. Platini emerged as an international superstar with Juventus, leading the team to a European Cup final in 1983 (a loss) and a European Cup championship in 1985. Juventus also captured two league championships (1984, 1986), a UEFA Super Cup (1984), and a European Cup Winners’ Cup (1984) during Platini’s tenure with the club, which lasted until 1987.
Platini had played his first match with the French national team in 1976. In 1982 he led France to a fourth-place finish at the World Cup, and two years later he was the leading scorer of the tournament as France captured the European Championship, the country’s first major international football title. France was the favourite heading into the 1986 World Cup, but it placed third after losing its semifinal match to West Germany. Platini retired from the sport in 1987 as the country’s all-time leading goal scorer with 41 for his international career.
Shortly after leaving the pitch for the final time, Platini turned to coaching, becoming the French national coach in 1988. He resigned that post in 1992 and then served as copresident of the organizing committee for the 1998 World Cup, which was hosted by France. Platini held a number of administrative positions in both the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and UEFA before he was elected UEFA president in 2007.
In December 2015 Platini was banned from international football for eight years after a FIFA investigation found that he had accepted an improper payment from Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA; the revelation was part of the 2015 corruption scandal that implicated more than two dozen FIFA officials and their associates in a 24-year self-enrichment scheme that reached the highest levels of FIFA management. Platini’s punishment was reduced to four years upon appeal, but he resigned from UEFA in May 2016 after his ban was not completely overturned. In 2019 he was briefly detained during an investigation into corruption allegations involving Qatar’s selection as host of the 2022 World Cup. Two years later Swiss authorities indicted Platini and Blatter on fraud charges related to the FIFA payment. The two men went on trial in 2022, and they both were acquitted.