Since the start of the 2024-2025 financial year, the Parisian project has undergone a significant shift with fewer superstars and more experienced players. Enough to cause a stir in the capital club's ticket office? Elements of response.
Friday November 22, at the Parc des Princes. Paris Saint-Germain welcomes Toulouse in a stadium where some stands are far from full. A first since the start of the Parisian season which calls for attention, while the club's leaders have decided to review their ambitions. Fewer superstars like Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar. Make way for experienced players like Marquinhos or Achraf Hakimi. But in pre-season, the enthusiasm is far from having died down among the regulars at the venue located at Porte d'Auteuil.
The club recorded a historic renewal rate last summer with 99.4% of supporters deciding to reinvest for this season. Or 36,000 seats sold automatically in the stadium, with the lounges and boxes. As far as businesses are concerned, Paris has also obtained multi-year commitments. The record is already impressive, with 148 consecutive sellouts.
“For resale it’s total berezina”
But then, how can we explain these many empty seats, especially during the match against Toulouse? A scene that happened again last weekend, against Nantes. At the club, we first put forward the reason for the winter period, with very cold evenings. But also and above all the number of resales which were much less significant. In the match against TFC, the Parisian club had volumes of 7,000-8,000 seats resold, a figure which usually amounts to around 12,000 tickets.
“For resale, it's total berezina. In previous seasons, in my stand, it went for an average of 150 euros depending on the posters. Now, I'm no longer able to sell my tickets. We have to apply a minimum price set up by PSG, we cannot impose the price we want. The consequence is that there are places which are not sold, hence the empty places”, says Julien, subscriber. in the stands Borelli.
“We clearly saw that during the last match against Toulouse, the stadium was not full. What is certain is that there is less demand because there are fewer stars. On resale of tickets, in the Auteuil stand, for me, it is very special, the price is 'caped' (understand “fixed) by the club. Now, there can be places from 20 euros to around 50 euros,” adds François.
At PSG, the situation is very different. At the club, we explain that the strategy in force for 10 years protects it from the possible consequences of a change of sporting project. Subscriptions maintain the same operation with automatic renewal.
But in recent months, the Parc des Princes has experienced periods of turmoil with the lively departure of Kylian Mbappé or even the Gaza tifo, which has divided a lot in the stands. “I have friends who talk to me about it all the time… The new project and the resale problems. I even know one who very often gives his tickets to relatives because he can't resell them. Even at the minimum price imposed by PSG”, concludes François.
Growing “no shows”
For around ten years, Paris Saint-Germain has been trying to fight against a completely different phenomenon: that of “no show”. In other words, people who have purchased tickets or who have subscriptions to the Parc des Princes, but who have decided not to come and attend a meeting. Today this concerns the biggest European teams such as Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Bayern Munich.
One of the responses to this phenomenon remains the secondary market and in particular the TicketPlace resale platform which represents 2.5% of the club's ticketing revenue. At the club, it is indicated that this problem of “no show” already existed when Messi, Neymar and Mbappé were in the squad. But TicketPlace makes it possible to fight against the black market which has become almost non-existent for PSG.
But then, how to combat the empty seats observed during championship posters? The capital club has already launched a first system since 2016 in the Auteuil corner with an attendance bonus. If season ticket holders attend a certain number of matches, they get a discount on their season ticket the following season.
If “no show” develops in other stands of the stadium, this measure could be extended. But nothing to worry about internally at the moment. With a Champions League semi-final last season, Paris recorded around 160 million euros in revenue linked to its ticketing. If the European journey proves to be as long this season, the French champion's income could approach 200 million euros.
