UEFA president Michel Platini has reiterated his opposition to the Premier League’s plan to stage an ‘international round’ of fixtures, insisting the scheme is designed only to help English teams cope with mounting debts.

The former France international has been a fierce critic of the Premier League’s idea to stage a 39th game overseas since it was announced last month, branding the concept ‘comical’ and ‘a joke’.

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore recently pulled out of a trip to see FIFA president Sepp Blatter after the ‘39th step’ was met with almost universal opposition from fans, national associations and football’s governing bodies.

And with the Premier League seemingly on the back foot as they return to the drawing board to take stock, Platini has launched another attack against the plan to take the English game to foreign shores.

‘English clubs are in debt and are therefore always looking for new sources of profit to cope,’ Platini told French newspaper La Provence.

‘When I see a Premier League club where the president, the coach and players are not English, again, I am sceptical.’

He added: ‘Twenty years ago, people said that it was necessary to play sport to stay healthy. Today, it is to play for cash. Football is not just a product, it is the bearer of values, it has a social impact. We must return to the true values of sport. That is why I wanted to be president, in order to protect these values. I am not against money, far from it. I have earned a lot in my life. But I think that money should not command in sport.’