Sepp Blatter claims he was 'close to dying' after being treated for stress in hospital

Sepp Blatter claims he was "close to dying" after being treated for stress in a Zurich hospital earlier this month.

The outgoing Fifa president, currently suspended for 90 days amid a corruption scandal, was admitted for a check-up on November 6th.

He was released a week later after suffering "a small emotional breakdown," and has conducted his first interview since recovering from the stress-related problem.

Speaking to Swiss broadcaster RTS, Blatter said:

"I was close to dying. I was between the angels who were singing and the devil who was lighting the fire, but it was the angels who sang.

“The pressure was enormous. At some stage the body just says, ‘No, enough is enough’. But if you are strong psychologically, you can resist.”

Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini are expected to be told this week of the next stage in the FIFA ethics committee proceedings against them. They are facing lengthy bans if found guilty of several breaches of FIFA's ethics code over a £1.3m payment made by FIFA to Platini in 2011.

FIFA's ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert will decide whether to hold a formal disciplinary hearing based on the case presented by investigators. A final outcome is expected before Christmas.

A statement from the investigatory chamber of the ethics committee said final reports had been submitted to Eckert containing "requests for sanctions'' over the 2million Swiss franc payment made to Platini.

It is understood this request will be for bans of several years based on four potential ethics code breaches: mismanagement, conflict of interest, false accounting and non co-operation with or criticising the ethics committee.