Born in Joeuf of part French/Italian descent mainly French (1/4 Italian and 3/4 French descent), Platini started at French club Nancy-Lorraine before moving on to Saint-Etienne, where he won the league title in 1981. In 1982 he moved to Italian club side Juventus, scoring 68 goals in 147 league games as a midfielder, and being three times in a row the serie A top goalscorer. Platini helped the club win two league titles, the Italian Cup, the European Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup.

Platini captained the French national team to European Championship honors in 1984, becoming the top scorer of the tournament with 9 goals.

He was voted European footballer of the year (Ballon d'or) an unprecedented three times in succession, in 1983, 1984 and 1985.

Platini was, together with François-Cyrille Grange , the lighter of the Olympic Flame at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. He was also the head of the organizing committee for the 1998 World Cup, held in France.

Teams

• US Quiestede , France (1963–1965; trainee)
• AS Joeuf , France (1966–1972; trainee)
• Nancy-Lorraine, France (1973–1979)
• Saint Etienne, France (1979–1982)
• Juventus, Turin, Italy (1982-1987)
• Liverpool, Liverpool, England (1987-1989)

Honours

Club honours

• 1978 French Cup (AS Nancy-Lorraine)
• 1981 French league title (AS Saint-Etienne)
• 1981 French Cup finalist (AS Saint-Etienne)
• 1982 French Cup finalist (AS Saint-Etienne)
• 1983 Italian Cup winner (Juventus)
• 1983 European Cup winner (Juventus)
• 1983 Serie A top goalscorer (16 goals)
• 1983 Ballon d'or
• 1984 Italian league title winner (Juventus)
• 1984 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup winner (Juventus)
• 1984 European Super Cup winner (Juventus)
• 1984 Serie A top goalscorer (20 goals)
• 1984 Ballon d'or
• 1985 European Cup winner (Juventus)
• 1985 Intercontinental Cup winner (Juventus)
• 1985 Serie A top goalscorer (18 goals)
• 1985 Ballon d'or
• 1986 Italian league title winner (Juventus)

International honours

• 1978 World Cup: First round
• 1982 World Cup: Fourth place
• 1984 European Championship: Winner
• 1985 Intercontinental Cup of Nations: Winner
• 1986 World Cup: Third place

72 matches, 41 goals, captain 49 times. French all-time top goalscorer

Managerial career

• 1992 European Championship: First round

|- style="text-align: center;" | width="30%" |Preceded by:
current holder | width="40%" style="text-align: center;" |European Footballer of the Year
1984 | width="30%" |Succeeded by:
retained

|- style="text-align: center;" | width="30%" |Preceded by:
current holder
| width="40%" style="text-align: center;" |European Footballer of the Year
1985 | width="30%" |Succeeded by:
Igor Belanov