French soccer icon, Michel Platini, has revealed a heartwarming story over his three Ballon d’Or triumphs and claims Juventus ‘made him great.’
How Good Was Michel Platini?
Michel Platini’s name in the sport of soccer is undoubtedly one of the most iconic of all-time, with the Frenchman winning three Ballon d’Or awards and enjoying an illustrious career.
The Frenchman began his career in his home nation, making his senior debut for AS Nancy-Lorraine at just 17-years-old, scoring 110 goals in 182 appearances between 1972-79 and winning the Coupe de France in 1978.
Following this successful spell, Platini went on to join Saint-Etienne and went on to win the Ligue 1 title in 1981 and scored 83 goals in 145 appearances for the French side.
At 27-years-old, Platini left his home nation after a decade and joined Serie A giants, Juventus, where he truly established himself as one of the best players in history.
Platini joined in 1982 and went on to win the Ballon d’Or in 1983, 1984 and 1985, with his second golden ball coming in the same year he helped France win the European Championship.
The prolific goalscorer ended the tournament with the golden boot after scoring nine goals in the competition and returned to Juventus with a huge profile.
After five-years in Italy, Platini retired from the sport in 1987 and ended his time in Turin with two league titles, a Coppa Italia trophy, European Cup Winners’ Cup, UEFA Super Cup, European Cup and Intercontinental Cup.
Platini made 223 appearances for Juventus, scoring 104 goals and is the 13th highest goalscorer in the clubs’ history – boasting a higher goals per game average than Roberto Baggio and Alessandro Del Piero.
Cristiano Ronaldo finished his Juventus career one goal behind the Frenchman and another Juventus icon, Andrea Pirlo, revealed his positive opinion on the Portuguese star in a recent interview.
What Did Michel Platini Say About His Ballon d’Or Wins?
As we previously touched on, Platini won three consecutive Ballon d’Or awards between 1982-85 and cemented his place as one of the best players in Juventus’ history.
In a recent interview, Platini spoke about how he gave one of his golden balls to the former Juventus board member, Gianni Agnelli, as the two had a special relationship.
Platini said: “He wanted me so much, but I didn’t know who he was. I discovered him little by little, and he was truly a great man. I gave him one of my three Golden Balls because it was one of the few things he couldn’t have. Jokes aside, out of gratitude and recognition: Juventus made me great, made me known in the world, it was right that I gave it to the boss.”
Agnelli unfortunately passed away in 2003 and he was often quoted with very complimentary messages towards Platini, claiming the Frenchman played football in the same way Leonardo da Vinci painted art.
Platini has also shown huge respect to the man that helped bring him to Juventus and shape the glorious 1980’s side, as the Frenchman claimed Agnelli was one of the few non-football people that saw the game like a manager.
Juventus could do with both Platini and Agnelli at this current moment in time, as they are currently priced as very unlikely title winners by Serie A betting sites.
Igor Tudor has recently been appointed as the full-time manager in Turin and will be looking to bring the league title back to Turin for the first time since 2020.
