PSG wants to buy the Parc des Princes. Paris City Hall turns a deaf ear. This has more or less been the situation for many months, many years in fact, even if the two parties are due to open new discussions about the future of the capital club and the stadium soon. In any case, some are not about to change their position at City Hall, starting with David Belliard. “I do not want and we do not want the sale of the Parc des Princes to Qatar or, in any case, the sale of the Parc des Princes,” recently indicated the Deputy Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, on the airwaves from Sud Radio. “Qatar has enough resources to invest in this legendary stadium that is the Parc des Princes,” he added with a view to potential renovation work by the “tenant” Paris Saint-Germain. In any case, as a Parisian elected official, I will oppose any sale of the Parc des Princes to Qatar or other private interests.
Words that did not fall on deaf ears. Questioned on RMC this Tuesday, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi does not speak of “racism”, he does not say the word. But it’s not far… “Maybe because we’re from Qatar, because we’re Arabs? It’s not right… Even legally I don’t think he can say that… It’s serious, really! Racism? I don’t know what the lawyers say about it but it’s really serious,” storms the Qatari president of Paris Saint-Germain in the program “Rothen s’igne”.
Also read: Al-Khelaïfi on Mbappé’s future at PSG: “The best club for Kylian is Paris”
He continued: “It hurts a lot. Not to me, but as a human, it’s not good, we are in France, country of freedom… We have to see legally, it’s very serious. For the rest, we are not hiding: we have a new American investor, Arctos. One of the conditions is to own the stadium. If we want to be competitive with other European clubs, we have to have our stadium. Le Parc is the best stadium in the world. But our supporters need bigger, closer to the pitch, we want to have the best stadium in the world and we want to invest. Today, with our investor and financial fair play, we have no choice. Otherwise ? We leave ! And that would be the worst choice. But even if it hurts, we have done a lot for the city of Paris, we put Paris on the world map. How many people come to Paris for PSG? A lot. The investments we made in Paris, in France, I think we deserve more respect. I love Paris, we love France and I’m proud to be there. I do it with passion. But if the city treats us like that, they don’t deserve us.”
However, the Qataris are not about to leave Paris and France. “I love the club. We talk with investors. But we are here. With the city, I want respectful discussions. There is no respect there, even though we have done good things for the city,” he concludes. Remember that Mr. Belliard is not his first attack on the origin of PSG’s funds, he who has already said he “regrets” and “denounces” the Parisian club’s belonging to Qatar.
