French footballing legend Michel Platini has been installed as the new favorite to replace Sepp Blatter at the head of the Federation Internationale de Football Association despite not yet confirming that he will run for office.

Michel Platini, arguably one of the most flamboyant and enigmatic footballers to ever grace a blade of grass, could well become the most powerful man in football as the bookies install him as the favorite to become the next President of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).

60-year old Platini is currently the President of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) after being elected for a third term in March. He has been at the helm of UEFA since 2007 and last summer pulled out of the 2015 FIFA Presidential campaign to concentrate on that job.

Platini wasn’t the only candidate to withdraw from that particular one-sided race. Former Real Madrid & Barcelona star, Luis Figo, also withdrew after suggesting that the electoral process was ‘anything but an election’ calling it a ‘plebiscite for the delivery of absolute power to one man.’