Is Platini the man to clean up Fifa?

One of the most exquisitely gifted football players of his generation, Fifa presidential candidate Michel Platini likes to portray himself as an old-fashioned romantic with a mission to maintain the game’s purity.

“There are times in life when you have to take your destiny into your own hands,” he said yesterday, announcing his bid to replace Sepp Blatter at the helm of the beleaguered world football body.

“I am at one of those decisive moments, at a juncture in my life and in events that are shaping the future of Fifa.” Some may wonder whether the moody Frenchman is the right man to clean up an organisation mired in a graft scandal reaching its top echelons.