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Qataris seek PSG sponsorship deal

A Qatari investor is in advanced discussions with Paris Saint-Germain about a 100-million-euro ($130 million) per year sponsorship contract over several seasons, sources in France and Qatar told AFP on Wednesday.

Qataris seek PSG sponsorship deal
C.Gavelle/PSG

The size of the contract with the financial insititution, which is likely to last for four years, could be worth between €350 million and €400 million, the same sources added.

In February, publicity material at the Parc des Princes ground said that the Paris club and the Qatar National Bank (QNB) had etablished links.

"There is a partnership project between Paris Saint-Germain and a Qatari financial institution for a sum of about €100 million a year," one well-placed source in French football told AFP, confirming details given by a member of the club owners' entourage.

PSG, which is owned by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), said in response that it had "no comment to make on any contract", adding: "We will give details about our contracts as and when they're signed."

According to a document sent to AFP, the financial establishment in question wants to become PSG's shirt sponsor from next season.

The United Arab Emirates-based airline Emirates is the current shirt sponsor. It has had its name on club jerseys since 2006 in a €3.5 million a year deal that runs out in 2014, according to PSG.

Qatari investors would also like to have their name on the club's home ground, the Parc des Princes, although that name will stay, as the ground belongs to the local authority in Paris.

With new backing, PSG, which has spent nearly €250 million on transfers since QSI became owners in June 2011, is hoping to bring its finances into line with European governing body UEFA's Financial Fair Play system.

Financial Fair Play is designed to ensure that all European clubs live within their means, at the risk of financial penalties or suspension from competition.

PSG would have to give more details on the project at the next meeting of the league's financial committee before getting approval.

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FOOTBALL

OPINION: Mbappé’s title, but PSG need to breathe new life into Qatari project

After being the star of France's 2018 World Cup triumph, Kylian Mbappé has been the standout player for Paris Saint-Germain in a Ligue 1 title-winning campaign that has been slightly marred by the manner in which they limped over the line.

OPINION: Mbappé's title, but PSG need to breathe new life into Qatari project
Photos AFP

PSG finally wrapped up the title on Sunday after second-placed Lille failed to beat Toulouse, having not won any of their previous three games when the opportunity to confirm a sixth French crown in seven seasons was there.

The Qatari-owned club can still make it a domestic double, with the French Cup final to come against Rennes next weekend, yet this will not be remembered as a vintage year.

While Neymar once again went missing due to injury at the crucial point, Edinson Cavani has struggled with fitness too, and coach Thomas Tuchel has regularly lashed out at the lack of depth in his squad.

The 5-1 capitulation at Lille a week ago was the worst league result for PSG since Qatar Sports Investments bought the club in 2011, and the first time they had let in five in a league game since 2000.

A record-breaking 14-match winning run with which they started the season now seems like a long time ago, the latest Champions League failure clouding Tuchel's first campaign in charge.

Mbappé, at least, has been a constant, revelling in his status as a World Cup winner and hardly ever being rested. He only turned 20 in December, but has now won three Ligue 1 titles in a row.

Mbappé has 36 goals in 40 games this season, with 30 in the league. And, frighteningly, his team-mate Daniel Alves told RMC recently that “he doesn't realise how good he is, he can go much further”.

He is also not used to losing, and may have upset some of his teammates with his assessment of last week's defeat at Lille. “We played like beginners,” he said.

Hollow ring

To be fair, they have usually been exceptional domestically. However, the problem is that as long as they keep failing in the Champions League, domestic success for a club backed by a Gulf state will continue to ring hollow.

The title has effectively been in the bag for some time, but their season has been winding down ever since their exit against Manchester United in the last 16.

That, combined with being knocked out in the League Cup quarter-finals, means Tuchel in his first season has actually done worse than Unai Emery, his unloved predecessor.

Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel has actually done worse than his predecessor, Unai Emery
However, according to sports daily L'Equipe, Tuchel has agreed to extend his contract to 2021. Thoughts have already turned to the future, with new signings needed at the Parc des Princes.

The costly Neymar experiment cannot be said to have succeeded until he stays fit for the games that matter, and there will always be speculation about his future.

“We have a contract, we're not even halfway through that contract,” Neymar's father pointed out to RMC Sport.

Time for a clear-out? 

Mbappé is the one man they really cannot afford to lose, but is it time for a clear-out elsewhere?

Some of the excitement of the early part of the decade has gone, replaced with a staleness. The days of Thiago Silva, Edinson Cavani and Marco Verratti are maybe ending.

Youri Djorkaeff, a World Cup winner for France and a PSG star in the 1990s, offers a frank assessment, suggesting real change is needed higher up.

“If you're not great in every compartment, from the bus driver to the girls who clean the shirts, you will go nowhere,” he told Ligue 1 Podcast, 'Le Beau Jeu'.

“Paris Saint-Germain, after many years without success, have to rebuild everything, restart from scratch, because the foundations are not good. You cannot expect to one day win the Champions League without these foundations.”

The Qatar project needs a breath of fresh air, and all eyes will be on president Nasser al-Khelaifi and sporting director Antero Henrique.

UEFA's Financial Fair Play rules remain a problem, though, with PSG said to have a hole of around 100 million euros and the need to present a balanced budget by the end of June. The next few months will be interesting.

By Andy Scott/AFP

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