French football legend Michel Platini had a frightening encounter with a burglar at his villa in Cassis, southern France, early on Friday morning, according to sources close to the police investigation.
The 70-year-old former football star was alerted by a noise in his garden and came face to face with a masked intruder, who quickly fled the scene. The thieves targeted the garden pavilion, where Platini kept the majority of his trophies and medals, making off with around 20 items from his illustrious career.
The Marseille prosecutor’s office confirmed to the French media group RTL that an investigation into aggravated burglary has been launched. The local gendarmerie brigade is currently handling the initial enquiries.
Michel Platini is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers in history. He played 72 times for the French national team and won the Ballon d’Or award three years consecutively from 1983 to 1985. Platini also led France to the World Cup semi-finals in both 1982 and 1986.
After his playing days, Platini moved into coaching, taking charge of the French national team in 1988. He later became a prominent football administrator, serving as UEFA president before being banned from football activities following a controversial payment linked to former FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
In December 2015, Platini received an eight-year ban from international football for accepting an improper payment, a sanction later reduced to four years on appeal. He resigned from his UEFA position in May 2016 when his ban was not fully lifted. Since then, he has faced several legal investigations, including a 2019 probe into allegations of corruption surrounding Qatar’s successful bid for the 2022 World Cup. In 2022, Platini and Blatter were acquitted of fraud charges related to this case.
Despite recent troubles, Platini remains a celebrated figure in world football, having been named a Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1985 and promoted to Officer in 1998, as well as being ranked seventh in the FIFA Player of the Century vote.
