PSG RATTLED as Qatar threaten IMMEDIATE withdrawal

Robin Bairner

13 Feb 2025 12:00 GMT
3 min read

Qatar has placed the future of PSG at stake by threatening to withdraw its investment in the club immediately.

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The Arab state has been left furious that PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has been indicted in the Lagardere investigation, with the 51-year-old facing charges of complicity in the abuse of power.

Al-Khelaifi was formally charged on 5 February, according to AFP, over claims that he influenced Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, which owns the Ligue 1 champions, to shift its stance in an internal governance dispute involving Arnaud Lagardere in exchange for undisclosed benefits.

He also stands accused of vote buying and obstruction of voting rights.

Al-Khelaifi’s spokesperson has denied the claims, stating: “This case has nothing to do with Nasser Al-Khelaïfi. His name is being used improperly, and in a few years, this case will collapse in silence.”

© IMAGO - Nasser Al-Khelaifi, PSG president

Nevertheless, the future of PSG appears to be at stake, with RMC reporting that Qatar is threatening to withdraw all its investments in France – including those from the Parc des Princes club and beIN Sports.

It claims that QSI are “very annoyed” by the latest twist.

“The Qataris are fed up with all this abuse. False prosecutions, blackmail, daily criticism, blaming others for their total incompetence, all the problems in France are their fault, every time they try to help, it is apparently for 'soft power'. This is pure abuse and everyone has had enough,” RMC quotes an unnamed source as having said.

PSG success fuelled by Qatar

Clearly, this situation could have massive implications for PSG, which has leaned on QSI heavily to establish itself as a European superpower, attracting names such as Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi to the club.

QSI also funded the world-record transfer that saw Neymar signed from Barcelona in 2017 for €222 million, a deal that underlined their ambition to make PSG the Champions League winners.

They may have come up short in that ambition to date, but they are on course to reach the last 16 of the competition this time around after a 3-0 win over Brest on Tuesday.

Without Qatari investment, though, the future of PSG would look very different.