Backheel Breakfast: Platini respects Blatter, but still wants him out of FIFA

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FIFA will elect a new president this week, and it’s likely that Sepp Blatter has rounded up enough votes to keep his position. But UEFA president Michel Platini and a lot of his colleagues will be voting for Prince Ali. He’s not a fan of Blatter, and reiterated his position that FIFA needs new leadership.

Platini says that he likes Blatter personally, but that public opinion has turned so sharply against Blatter that he can’t accomplish his personal goals or the goals of FIFA as a whole.

“He doesn’t have to lie [about why he’s trying to be re-elected]. We all know it’s not because he hasn’t finished his mission or that he has big plans for FIFA. After 40 years at the top of an institution, that kind of talk is just not credible. He’s simply afraid of tomorrow, because he’s dedicated his life to FIFA, so much so that now he completely identifies himself with it. I understand the fear that he must have, that’s only human, but if he really loves FIFA then he should think about it before thinking about himself. While he remains in place, whether he likes it or not, whether it’s fair or not, FIFA will will lack credibility, and therefore authority.”

This seems fair enough, but it’s unlikely Blatter’s going to agree and decide to drop out in the next week.

Carlo Ancelotti needs back surgery, so don’t expect him to take a new job this summer. (ESPN FC)

Manchester United will not offer to sign Radamel Falcao permanently. (BBC)

Michel Laudrup is angling for the vacant Premier League jobs. (Telegraph)

But he might get beaten to the West Ham job by Slaven Bilic. (Guardian)

Tim Sherwood says he’ll attack Arsenal in the FA Cup final. (Mirror)

Darmstadt won on Sunday to clinch promotion to the Bundesliga. (Bundesliga)

Chris Wondolowski is the 9th player to score 100 goals in MLS. (MLS)

Jeremy Mathieu and Luis Suarez have resumed light training ahead of the Copa del Rey final. (AS)

Sid Lowe on Eibar’s relegation. (Guardian)

James Yorke on the stats that defined the EPL season. (Stats Bomb)

Jörg Seidel on how Bundesliga teams performed against statistical projections. (Goal Impact)

The section in which nothing should be taken seriously. It’s rumor season, so this section will be expanded, and as the summer rolls on, will probably be bigger than the actual news section.

Angel Di Maria could be headed for PSG. (Mirror)

With Paulo Dybala signed, Domenico Berardi could be on the market. (Football Italia)

Arsenal could sign Arturo Vidal. (Star)

David Luiz is trying to recruit Paul Pogba to PSG. (Mail)

Cristiano Ronaldo set a new career-best goals total in a win.

Hull drew against Manchester United and got relegated.

Juventus beat Napoli, meaning the latter won’t be in Champions League.

Hamburg won to get up to 16th, and will face Karlsruhe in a promotion/relegation playoff. (ESPN FC)

Queretaro and Santos won their semifinals to make the Liga MX final. (ESPN FC)

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