Europe

Oh la la! Cypriot renews Platini memorabilia record bid

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Dogs sit near pictures of the French former soccer player and administrator Michel Platini in a museum dedicated to him, owned by Philippos Stavrou Platini, who legally adopted his sports hero's surname, in Mosfiloti, Cyprus on Sunday, March 26, 2017. A Cypriot fan Michel Platini is renewing a bid to be entered in the Guinness Book of World Records for the biggest collection of Plantini memorabilia. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) (The Associated Press)

A man walks past posters and pictures of the French former soccer player and administrator Michel Platini in a museum owned by Philippos Stavrou Platini, who legally adopted his sports hero's surname, dedicated to Michel Platini, in Mosfiloti, Cyprus on Sunday, March 26, 2017. A Cypriot fan Michel Platini is renewing a bid to be entered in the Guinness Book of World Records for the biggest collection of Plantini memorabilia. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) (The Associated Press)

A man walks by the pictures of the French former soccer player and administrator Michel Platini in a museum owned by Philippos Stavrou Platini, who legally adopted his sports hero's surname, dedicated to Michel Platini, in Mosfiloti, Cyprus on Sunday, March 26, 2017. A Cypriot fan Michel Platini is renewing a bid to be entered in the Guinness Book of World Records for the biggest collection of Plantini memorabilia. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) (The Associated Press)

A Cypriot fan of former soccer player and administrator Michel Platini is renewing a bid to be entered in the Guinness Book of World Records for the biggest collection of Plantini memorabilia.

Philippos Stavrou Platini — yes, he legally adopted his sports hero's surname — said he has nearly doubled the number of items he owns from the Frenchman's days as a player and as president of European soccer governing body UEFA to 41,630.

Stavrou Platini told The Associated Press Sunday that losing the record to a Brazilian collector four years ago made him more determined to be crowned the king of all things Platini.

The centerpiece of his collection is the official UEFA suit Plantini wore for years at official functions and gave to his Cypriot admirer as a gift in 2010.