Jérôme Valcke tried to secure a multimillion-pound payoff from Fifa this month, shortly before he was suspended as secretary general, it has emerged.

Valcke, the right-hand man of the embattled Sepp Blatter since 1997, was suspended on Thursday and placed on indefinite leave in the wake of allegations he had colluded to sell 2014 World Cup tickets above face value. His case is being investigated by Fifa’s ethics committee. Emails seen by the Guardian appeared to suggest that Valcke knew tickets were being sold at up to five times their face value by the JB Sports Marketing consultant Benny Alon, although those emails are incomplete and could be open to other interpretations.

A statement from Valcke’s US lawyer, Barry Berke, said the Frenchman “unequivocally denies the fabricated and outrageous accusations”. It said: “Mr Valcke never received or agreed to accept any money or anything else of value from Mr Alon. As has been reported, Fifa entered into an agreement with Mr Alon’s company, JB Sports Marketing. That agreement and Fifa’s subsequent business dealings with Mr Alon were vetted and approved by Fifa and its legal counsel.”

Alon claimed that Valcke had agreed to provide better tickets on the agreement that any profits were split 50-50. Ultimately Fifa’s contract with JB Sports Marketing was cancelled and a new agreement drawn up with Match, Fifa’s ticketing partners.

Valcke announced in July that he planned to leave Fifa next February, when Blatter has promised to stand down as president in the wake of the corruption crisis that has gripped the world governing body. But it is understood that Valcke, who until relatively recently held ambitions to be president, had lately been plotting his exit. He is believed to have been seeking a payoff for the remaining three years of his contract, a figure that would have run to several million pounds. There is no suggestion that Valcke’s negotiations were linked in any way to the current allegations.

Blatter, said to be keen to demonstrate to the US Department of Justice and Swiss investigators that the organisation is serious about reform, emailed Fifa staff to explain the situation.

Valcke was en route to Russia for the celebration of 1,000 days to the start of the 2018 World Cup when his private jet turned back en route after Alon detailed his claims at a briefing in Zurich.

The deputy general secretary, Markus Kattner, who also signed the original Fifa contract with JB Sports Marketing to provide tickets for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, has taken over on a temporary basis.

Meanwhile, Blatter emailed Fifa staff saying the organisation can recover from its troubles. The president said: “Fifa is confident of its ability to recover from the present difficult situation and restore its reputation for the good of the game.”

One of Valcke’s key roles was overseeing preparations for the 2018 World Cup but Fifa insiders insisted that his departure would not have any effect on the tournament, which on Friday marked 1,000 days to go with a ceremony in Red Square.

Blatter, who did not travel to Russia and is understood to have been advised to remain in Switzerland as the criminal investigations proceed, insisted that preparations for the tournament remained on track.

“Russia, the host cities and Fifa have been working together to prepare a successful tournament in 2018, when fans from all over the planet will come together in the world’s biggest country for the 21st global showpiece,” he said.

“Given the current level of preparations, we are fully confident that Russia will prove to be an excellent host both for the teams and the fans.”

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Prince Ali, one of those hoping to challenge the favourite Michel Platini to succeed Blatter, said it was time for the current regime to step aside. “The reputational damage to Fifa continues. Surely it is time for a new generation with new ideas to take over,” he said. “The old regime should step aside now, so a new team can effect a complete reform of the organisation to reflect the change that the national associations and fans of the game around the world are calling for.”