“PSG faces stadium ownership battle with Paris Mayor, Anne Hidalgo- Will the Parc des Princes be sold?”

The situation is grotesque, the file thorny. It mixes money, politics, diplomacy but also a large dose of pride with protagonists who, for five months, have refused to lose face and surrender blow for blow through the media.

The picture is very simple to draw: before undertaking expansion work which should cost it nearly 500 million euros and see the light of day in 2029 in the best case, PSG absolutely wants to own its stadium. Anne Hidalgo was open to the idea but she abruptly closed the door on January 14 in front of the readers of Le Parisien: “Very clearly, the Parc des Princes is not for sale. And it will not be sold. This is a firm and definitive position. This is an exceptional heritage of Parisians. »

“The mayor forces PSG to leave her house”

This about-face stunned the club’s leaders, who immediately reacted: “By definitively closing the takeover discussions that began a very long time ago (…) the mayor is forcing PSG to leave his house. »

The club and the City of Paris had been working on a takeover for a long time. While the City had made an estimate of 350 million euros, PSG made a proposal of 40 million euros in the course of last year. “It’s cheaper than Paredes!” “, mocked Emmanuel Grégoire, the first deputy. A comparison that had outraged Nasser Al-Khelaïfi: “What is the value of the Parc des Princes without PSG? Zero ! I ask that the City of Paris respect us”.

The City and the club have long gone hand in hand. But everything got worse with the city councilor’s decision to boycott the World Cup. An affront seen from Doha, while since 2011, with hundreds of millions of euros invested, Qatar has made PSG one of the biggest clubs in the world. Nasser Al-Khelaïfi found in the extension of the Parc des Princes a good way to fight back and put the city councilor face to face with his responsibilities.

Increasing the Park’s capacity is a crucial growth lever to continue playing in the big leagues. In twelve years, the tenant of the Park has already spent more than 85 million euros to maintain the enclosure. Its expansion will cost it at least 500 million euros and it is therefore unimaginable to invest so much without owning it.

Anne Hidalgo can’t come across as enriching Qatar

But what is obvious for the leaders is not obvious for the elected officials who are not fooled. Because this transaction has a political aspect. Selling the Park would significantly increase the value of the club. However, Anne Hidalgo cannot give the impression of enriching Qatar. This financial operation would be very badly perceived by the groups of the municipal majority.

This is also why discussions with the Town Hall have been stalling for so many years. “If we can’t buy the Park, we’ll leave. This is not what we want, but we are left with no choice,” summarized Nasser Al-Khelaïfi in “L’Équipe” on December 3. The pressure shot looked like a bluff because, at the time, no plan B held water. Since then, the hypothesis of a move to the Stade de France has gained momentum and the balance of power has been balanced.

In this lying poker game, the City of Paris can also lose very big: if the PSG moves, the Parc des Princes becomes an empty shell, a money pit for Parisian taxpayers. A politically unimaginable outcome.

Paris and PSG are no longer inseparable

On the PSG side, we tirelessly repeat that the priority remains the Park. But to avoid finding oneself in a dead end, the opportunity to acquire the Stade de France must be seized. The club will take an official first step this Thursday by officially filing its interest. The path is still very long and tortuous before a takeover. We will have to be convincing, especially with the supporters, whose opinion will be predominant, we promise the club.