An investigation began in 2015 into the alleged secret payment made by Blatter to Platini, which they claim was "consultancy services" performed by the latter from 1998 to 2002.

Prosecutors have argued that Swiss law places a five-year limit on such payments and was therefore illegal.

The charges carried a maximum five-year prison sentence if found guilty, but the Swiss prosecutor's office has demanded a suspended sentence of a little more than 18 months at the Federal Criminal Court of Bellinzona.

Blatter and Platini have always denied any wrongdoing.

Swiss official Blatter, who led FIFA from 1998 until 2015, said earlier in the trial that the payment was part of a "gentleman's agreement" between the pair.

Former FIFA finance director Markus Kattner, who was suspended from football for 10 years in 2020, testified yesterday that he did not alert the Federal authorities to the payment as he believed it was legal.

Platini, UEFA President from 2007 until 2015, signed a written contract with FIFA for an annual salary of CHF300,000 (£245,000/€288,000/$307,000) as Blatter's technical adviser in 1999.

This was paid in full by the global governing body.

A decision from the Court in the southern Swiss city is expected on July 8, after the trial opened last Wednesday (June 8).

The case has been billed as football's "trial of the century".

The disgraced former football administrators were banned for eight years by the FIFA Ethics Committee in relation to the payments in 2015, with this reduced to six years on appeal.

Blatter, a former member of the International Olympic Committee, was banned for a further six years and eight months in 2021 for various violations of the FIFA Code of Ethics.

He fell from power in 2015 amid a mass of corruption scandals at football's global governing body.

Platini launched an election campaign to replace Blatter, but this was undermined by the alleged illegal payment.

The Frenchman won three Ballon d'Ors and the 1984 European Championships as a player.