A few weeks ago, the takeover of Paris FC by the Arnault family and Red Bull had the effect of a bomb within French football. While he could well be a serious competitor to Paris Saint-Germain in the future, the PFC would not fail to worry Nasser Al-Khelaïfi. Indeed, according to information from L'Equipe, which quotes an expert on Qatar, “NAK” would not be the happiest: “He sees a competitor arrive with enormous resources who has the name of Paris and the Eiffel Tower on his logo. It's no longer the same situation as with Paris FC before, even if it had moved up to L1. It will take time, but the PFC will end up overshadowing PSG” declares this source.
Al-Khelaïfi upset?
Not enough to damage relations between Al-Khelaïfi and Antoine Arnault, according to the sports daily. The two men like each other, the second considering the first as a “friend” even though he was invited to the inauguration of the PSG Campus on November 21. The PSG boss even hid his joy at the time of the PFC buyout: “This is great news. It’s fantastic for Paris, fantastic for French football. This will bring emulation and new healthy competition to the highest level of football in the capital.“
Antoine Arnault, for his part, made no secret of being a PSG supporter during an interview for RMC Sport last month: “So, let things be clear: I have been a PSG supporter since I was 12 years old. I was a subscriber for many years and today I am very kindly invited by Nasser (Al-Khelaïfi) whom I know well and who is a friend. I have enormous admiration and respect for what he has built with his shareholder. PSG is a great club that I admire. And I will not have the immodesty to compare myself or try to create a kind of artificial rivalry between our club today or the future club that will be Paris FC and the current PSG. I think there is room for two clubs in Paris, I think there is room to build two different, perhaps complementary, stories. What we want is to continue in the popular tradition of the Paris FC club, to continue to do things well. And it's not because we do certain things that they are necessarily in opposition to PSG. As for me, I will always be a supporter of PSG while being a shareholder of Paris FC, except, I hope, twice a year or there, I will be more for Paris FC. You will never hear me say anything negative about PSG. It's a club that I admire, it's a club that achieves extraordinary things. And I will always keep him in my heart. I do not rule out supporting two clubs in Paris. At least as long as we are in Ligue 2 that is certain and even the day when, I hope, we will be in Ligue 1. I find that its shareholders and Nasser have achieved something absolutely extraordinary over the past dozen years. 'years. We can see this clearly, moreover, in the valuations of the different rankings, PSG is at the top or in the top 5 of club valuations in Europe.”
Featured Podcasts
MEN LIFE
To summarize
A big revelation was made about Nasser Al-Khelaïfi's state of mind regarding the takeover of the PFC. A few weeks ago, the takeover of Paris FC by the Arnault family and Red Bull had the effect of a bomb within French football. While he could well be a serious competitor to Paris Saint-Germain in the future, the PFC would not fail to worry Nasser Al-Khelaïfi.
