Al-Khelaïfi and Qatar, Labrune will never say thank you enough to them

The weight of Nasser Al-Khelaïfi at the heart of French football is undeniable, but it does not worry the president of the LFP, who wanted to pay tribute to everything that Qatar had done for our championship.

The Champions Trophy between PSG and Monaco has no date or location, Qatar appeared to be the ideal solution to fill this void and restore some prestige to this title which is taking a back seat in France. The Emirate has a very captivating weight in the world of French football, which it is impossible to deny since PSG dominates the championship, and BeIN Sports has been an important partner of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 for years. A strong man in these two entities, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi is still in a good place in the authorities, whether in the League or within UEFA. His ability to influence decisions bothers certain Ligue 1 presidents, and even certain competing media, but the reality is indisputable.

Without Qatar, France would not be here

Questioned by L'Equipe, Vincent Labrune recognized that Nasser Al-Khelaïfi was a man who carried weight, like his club. And he does not hesitate to pay tribute to the enormous contribution of the Qatari president and his club. “ On the question of conflicts of interest and its weight at the LFP, the situation has been strictly the same since the takeover of PSG by QSI. Neither more nor less. It is proportional to the weight of its club and its shareholder in the French football economy. Qatar's investments and PSG's results have boosted French football in recent years, we should not forget that. Without them, we would never have had the chance to see global stars such as Zlatan, Beckham, Neymar or Messi… Mbappé would never have stayed five more years in L1. And without PSG's European performances in recent seasons, we would have long lost our fifth UEFA place which today allows us to have four clubs qualified in the Champions League. » underlined Vincent Labrune, who completely trusts Nasser Al-Khelaïfi to take all of French football to the top.

Even if this can lead to complicated situations, like when he was convinced that BeIN Sports would buy the rights to the entire Ligue 1 for 700 million euros, but nothing happened last summer, forcing the League to fall back at the last moment on DAZN. But if the British platform ever had to throw in the towel due to not having the necessary subscribers in a year, there is no doubt that Nasser Al-Khelaïfi would not be far away. The president of PSG sits on the strategic advisory committee of LFP Media, intended to reflect on the future of television rights for French football. Suffice to say that its systematic opposition to the creation by the League of its own channel will once again be loudly heard if necessary.