PSG welcome SHOCK Red Bull takeover: Fantastic for Paris!

Robin Bairner

10 Oct 2024 11:40 BST
3 min read

Nasser Al-Khelaifi, Jurgen Klopp, PSG, Red Bull — © IMAGO

The announcement that Red Bull are planning on expanding their football empire to Paris has been met with delight by PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.

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Red Bull made headlines on Wednesday as it was announced that former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp will join the company as Head of Global Soccer from 1 January 2025.

The soft drinks group, meanwhile, are poised to buy a stake in Ligue 2 side Paris FC – and it is music to the ears of the PSG supremo, who welcomes the prospect of another powerful force in the French capital.

Red Bull are only set to take a minority 15% stake in the club, with PFC set to owned by the wealthy Arnault family, which is worth around €200 billion and owns luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior and Moet & Chandon.

Al-Khelaifi held a meeting with Oliver Mintzlaff, one of the CEOs of Red Bull, on Wednesday and is excited with the additional investment into football in Paris, according to RMC.

“This is great news. It’s fantastic for Paris, fantastic for French football,” the outlet quotes a source close to PSG as having said.

“It will bring new healthy competition at the highest level of football in the capital.”

© IMAGO - Jurgen Klopp is Red Bull's new figurehead

Questions over Red Bull's investment

The new investment in Paris FC has been broadly welcomed in France, with the prospect of a city derby a mouth-watering prospect for a country that lacks such a spectacle.

There is, however, concern that a lack of footballing culture in the City of Lights might prevent a serious rival to PSG from developing.

“It’s all well and good to have a population base, but it’s almost exclusively for PSG,” RMC pundit Daniel Riolo said. “Historically, there are also a lot of Marseille supporters in the Paris region. So going and creating a club, even if it exists, with supporters who will come and a public who will be interested, it’s not going to be easy.”

Red Bull have expertise in this field, having built RB Leipzig up from almost nothing to a team capable of challenging for honours in Germany and Europe. Having Klopp tied to the project will, of course, help.