As planned, Julian Draxler heads to Qatar. Recruited in January 2017 for €35 million, the 29-year-old German international (58 caps, 7 goals) left PSG for the Qatari club Al-Ahli. A transfer which will bring in around €10 million for the reigning French champions and the third towards Qatar after those of Abdou Diallo (€15 million) and, more recently, Marco Verratti (€45 million), both in Al Arabi. Two-year contract in Doha for the native of Gladbeck.
Having played for Schalke 04 and Wolfsburg, Draxler played 198 matches with Paris-SG (26 goals, 41 assists) before leaving on loan to Benfica Lisbon for the past season. World champion in 2014 with Germany, he gradually lost his starting stripes in Paris, then his place in the rotation, between injuries and poor form.
Draxler was one of the undesirables that the club pushed out this summer, bringing more than €200 million into the coffers, including 90 for Neymar’s transfer to Saudi Arabia alone. All without counting XXL savings in terms of salary with the departures of Leo Messi, Sergio Ramos, “Ney” or Verratti. This made it possible to finance the arrival of 11 new faces in the Parisian locker room (Kolo Muani, Dembélé, Hernandez) during the transfer window. A priori, all while remaining within the framework of financial fair play.