Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter have been fully acquitted after the Attorney General's Office in Switzerland said it would not challenge a ruling from March which cleared them of fraud.
Criminal proceedings were initiated in 2015 against Platini (70), a three-time Ballon d'Or winner as a player and UEFA president from 2006-16, and former FIFA president Sepp Blatter over a two million Swiss franc (then €1.8m) payment from Blatter to Platini in 2011.
The pair were charged in 2021 as Swiss prosecutors claimed the payment had "no legal basis" but they were cleared for a second time by the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber in March this year, having first been acquitted at the Federal Criminal Court in July 2022.
The allegations led to the suspension of both men from their roles and elections in 2016 that installed the current FIFA (Gianni Infantino) and Aleksander Ceferin (UEFA) presidents.
Blatter (89) was originally banned by FIFA for six years over the payment, and was given a new six-and-a-half year suspension in 2021 for allegedly accepting undue economic benefits totalling €20m during his time as the association's president between 1998 and 2015.
Platini’s lawyer Dominic Nellen said on Thursday: "After two acquittals and the withdrawal of the Office of the Attorney General, these criminal proceedings have finally failed. Michel Platini has been acquitted with legal effect and fully rehabilitated under criminal law.
"The criminal proceedings had not only legal but also massive personal and professional consequences for Michel Platini – even though no incriminating evidence was ever presented. Among other things, the criminal proceedings prevented his election as FIFA president in 2016."
Platini has always maintained that the money he received was back payment of wages owed after he served as an advisor to Blatter between 1998 and 2002.
"Michel Platini notes the withdrawal of the appeal with satisfaction," Nellen added.
"He has always emphasised that the payment was an outstanding back payment of wages. The final acquittal proves him right.
"The Office of the Attorney General has failed to find a single piece of incriminating evidence over a period of 10 years. These proceedings were unjustified and should never have been brought.
"After two acquittals, the Office of the Attorney General has finally recognised this and withdrawn its appeal.
"Following the failure of the criminal proceedings, the defense will now analyse how to take legal action against those responsible for initiating the proceedings."
