NYON (Reuters) - Swede Lars-Christer Olsson has resigned as UEFA chief executive after reaching a settlement with European football's governing body, he told Reuters on Thursday.

"I have just signed an agreement with UEFA to stand down," Olsson said in a telephone interview.

"Unfortunately, I would have liked to stay on but there was a difference of views on how we go forward under the new administration."

Olsson, 57, was a very close ally of compatriot Lennart Johansson, who was voted out of office after 17 years as UEFA president last Friday, losing the presidential election to Frenchman Michel Platini at the UEFA Congress in Duesseldorf.

Platini said in a statement: "On behalf of the European football family I therefore take this opportunity to thank Lars-Christer for his dedication and hard work to the game of football, both with the Swedish FA and at UEFA, and to wish him all the very best for the future."

Platini has made no secret of his intention to take a far greater role as executive president of the organisation, which would make Olsson's position untenable.

"Michel Platini is a good person as an individual. This is all part of the game. Once the new regime took over, I felt it was time to go," Olsson said.

He was UEFA's highest management official since succeeding Gerhard Aigner in January 2004.

"Over the past three years he (Olsson)... achieved a great deal in a very short period, most notably the continued re-distribution of income from the European Championships and the UEFA Champions League, closer links with all our member associations, and the introduction of thousands of mini-pitches across Europe," Platini said in his statement.

Olsson has had a major impact at UEFA in his three years as chief executive, initiating the Vision Europe project suggesting a way forward for European football, and supporting the European Sports Review designed to modernise and define the status of sport and football in European law.

"I am very proud of what I have achieved and feel under the previous administration I could have done a lot more," Olsson said.

Olsson said he would take a break from the game for a short period but hoped to be back behind a desk somewhere within football "very soon".

"I would like to continue in football and if anyone thinks that I have done a good enough job and wants to employ me, then I would of course jump at the chance," he said.

Olsson, an amateur player in Sweden and a holder of UEFA's second-level coaching badge, joined UEFA in 2000 as director of professional football and marketing before being elevated to chief executive four years later.

(Writing by Darren Ennis in Brussels)