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 In his first public comments since emerging from treatment, Blatter
told Swiss broadcaster RTS: "I was really between the angels who
sing and the devil who stokes the fire. It was the angels who sang"
- but did not go into details on his condition.
Blatter was admitted to hospital in early November, weeks after
FIFA's ethics committee launched an investigation into his conduct
and that of his former protege, European soccer boss Michel Platini.
The FIFA body suspended both men, then called on Saturday for
sanctions against them, deepening the storm building up around the
sport which is also facing criminal enquiries in Switzerland and the
United States.
Blatter, who left hospital on Nov, 12, again defended his record in
the interview but said he wished he had stepped down at the height
of his career, after last year's World Cup in Brazil.
"I regret that I didn't say to myself 'Blatter, you have reached the
peak, you have done some good things, you can't do more than this,
you should stop.'"
Asked if he felt he was close to death, he replied: "I was. I was
close ... The pressure was enormous."
The interview, released in part to the media late on Sunday, will be
broadcast in full on Wednesday.
The committee's announcement on Saturday dealt a new blow to
Platini's bid to succeed Blatter as head of FIFA.
Blatter told RFS that Platini "an honest man".
"If he comes back, then he will be elected ... and if he comes back,
then I will come back as well."
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"There was nothing under the table ... even in the FIFA rules, it's
allowed to make a written or an oral contract," he added.
Blatter, who has been at the head of FIFA since 1998, faces criminal
investigation in Switzerland over a 2 million Swiss franc ($1.96
million) payment from FIFA to Platini. Both men have denied
wrongdoing.
The payment was made in 2011 for work Platini had completed nine
years earlier, the Swiss attorney-general's office has said, adding
Platini was considered "between a witness and an accused person".
Buffeted by scandals over the last few years, FIFA was thrown into
turmoil in May by the U.S. indictments of 14 soccer officials,
including two FIFA vice-presidents, and sports marketing executives
for alleged corruption.
(Reporting by Brian Homewood in Berne; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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