Platini has long been the bookmakers’ favourite to succeed Blatter and last week his supporters indicated that he has picked up widespread support from leaders of the continental confederations.

When asked if Platini will stand, UEFA said Tuesday that the 60-year-old will confirm his intention this week.

He is standing down in February as a result of a corruption crisis at world football’s governing body.

The election will be held in Zurich at an emergency congress attended by the FIFA member associations.

Liberian FIFA Presidential hopeful Musa Bility says Michel Platini is more of the same and thinks he can be a fresh voice to lead football forward.

Despite the reported backing, there is no guarantee that the confederations will be able to persuade all their members to vote for Platini as voting is in secret.

The arrest of several senior football -officials on multimillion-pound fraud charges forced Blatter, 79, to announce his resignation less than four days later.

Platini and outgoing president Sepp Blatter sat side-by-side at the start of an association meeting in St Petersburg on Saturday, before the World Cup qualifying draw.

Ginola had intended to stand in May’s vote but was unable to get the five nominations from football federations needed to be a candidate – a problem Zico has conceded he will probably encounter.

The former Nancy and Saint-Etienne midfielder, who became famous for his ability to score from free-kicks, also won league titles in France and Italy.

He captained France to win the 1984 European Championship – his nine-goal performance in his home country ranks among the finest individual tournament displays – and scored the winning goal for Juventus in the 1985 European Cup final.

However, former Manchester United chief executive David Gill provided a more positive appraisal of Platini’s leadership skills.