Valcke tried to get payoff from Fifa

Jerome Valcke tried to secure a payoff of several million pounds from Fifa just a week before he was suspended, it can be disclosed.

Valcke, Fifa’s secretary general, was suspended by the world governing body pending an investigation into allegations he was implicated in a World Cup tickets scheme. He has denied any wrongdoing.

The Frenchman had announced in July he would leave the organisation along with outgoing president Sepp Blatter in February. Sources close to Fifa said Valcke has been keen for some time to make an early exit from the governing body.