Why Qatar wants to "buy" the Champion's League
August 20, 2017
No way. I have said I won't write anything about Neymar. These last weeks I have been so overwhelmed with articles about the Brazilian that just considering this idea would have made me throw up. Literally. It was insane! For a few weeks, the entire planet of football stopped spinning focusing exclusively on this soap opera. The guy was not even talking but we found ways to write thousands of theories from "Se queda" 'till "il arrive". What a release when he finally formalized the whole thing. It was finally over. At least that's what I thought. It was without counting on the "inventiveness" of L'Equipe. The French's sport newspaper still write in average three articles a day about the guy. I am really wondering how long they can last following this rhythm.
So no, I won't write a line about that. Instead I have decided to focus on the bigger picture. The whole story behind his arrival. Let's find out the Truth with a big "T". The reason why these guys came out from nowhere six years ago, hungry like starving piranhas with one single objective in mind: winning the so coveted Champion's League.
Let's start with a small lesson of history. Paris is a relatively "young" club. Founded in 1970, they joined the Ligue 1 in 1974, won their first national title in 1986 and before their recent acquisition by Qatar Sport Investment (QSI) in 2011, they were the propriety of Canal+ and Conoly investment. The buy-out of the club, mismanaged for years, full of debts, who did not win a national title for more than 10 years was easy and cheap (around 70 millions). But money was not the issue and QSI, the investment arm of the Qatar's crown stated quickly their plan to become one of the biggest football club in the world. Their ambition was clear, straight forward and without any ambiguity. They wanted to strike hard and fast. And they did. In France they quickly became almost unbeatable and won the League four years in a row after a first year warm-up finishing second. They didn't let crumbs to their opponents, winning all the national cups and being only defeated this year by an amazing team of Monaco for the national title. In Europe, the story was different though. Despite of building a very competitive team, they are still waiting for their first Champion's League semi-final, failing every year in quarter, and last year in eighth, knocked out by Barcelona in one of the most famous and humiliating remontada of all time. (4-0 / 6-1)
So let's move on to the one billion's question. Why the hell QSI have decided to acquire PSG !? This unattractive club without history, unhealthy, invaded by hooligans openly supporting fascist political party (the sadly famous Boulogne's boys) and with a very limited support from its own city's population. Sounds crazy right? But if you look closer, it actually make total sense.
The story tells that former President Sarkozy, a huge PSG's fan, has asked prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to buy the club in exchange of his support and Michel Platini's vote in favor of their application to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. But even though it may be a part of the answer, the equation is way more complex.
Qatar is a rich country. Oil & Gaz is flowing and huge revenue with it. But money is not enough if you want to exist on the international scene. You need more. You need an image and a reputation. A way to promote it to extend your boarder far away from their physical limits. So Qatar acquired PSG to increase their global visibility and what we call their "Soft Power". The capacity to influence the world without having the biggest army, the biggest population, and a nuclear bomb ready to be launched on a small Pacific's US island. They wanted a place at the international table and football has been their main vector of development (the controversial 2022 World Cup is another one). Qatar is also obsessed by international recognition and has a strong will to build an attractive image of their country. The recent development in their political conflict with their neighbors gave even more importance to their positioning. Some journalist even wrote that Neymar's acquisition was an answer to the current political and economic blockade, showing their powerful to their opponents.
The idea of turning PSG into a potential Champion's League winner seemed to them the most straight forward and cheap way to get a well-deserved international recognition and a polish image of their regime. Smart? Maybe. Location wise at least it make sense. Being the most visited city in the world, difficult to find a better place for getting worldwide attention and exposition. PSG had also an unexplored potential, being one of the only European capital without a foreground's club in activity. With seven millions inhabitant, PSG has a huge potential fans based. And considering UEFA’s financial fair play policy which stating that a club cannot spend more than what they earn, they urgently need to increase their revenue.
If the idea of developing their image through football and sport in general was bright in theory, in practice this is another story. The world cup 2022 in Qatar is very poorly reflecting on the country, as their authorities were accused and convinced of corruption. The non-sense of organizing the biggest football event in one of the hottest country in the world, without any sustainable infrastructure has cost ex-FIFA and UEFA Presidents Sep Blatter and Michelle Platini their job. The recent 222 million Neymar buy-out did not arrange their situation. In doubling the last record (Pogba to Manchester for 110 million), PSG is accused of creating an inflation in today’s market. Their unlimited financial means and a clear hunger for more start to irritate their opponent and a fringe anti-PSG is growing among the European football leaders. But PSG’s President Nasser Al-Kelhaifi does not seem to care much about it. He has one and only one purpose. Winning the Champions League. Qatar’s honor is at that cost and with the money put on the table, the only question that remain is when.