Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG)-owned Manchester City and Qatar Sports Investments (QSI)’s Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have shot to fame in the last decade.
City, who are the reigning champions in the English Premier League, have won six league titles since the takeover in 2008. Paris, on the other hand, were acquired by QSI in 2011 and have thoroughly dominated Ligue 1 since, winning eight league titles.
State-backed clubs have been able to enjoy such unprecedented success through their financial might, by luring the biggest stars away from top clubs.
Barcelona president Laporta is not a fan of how PSG and City conduct business, claiming that they do not generate their revenues via football, thus provoking “instability.”
On the topic of state-backed clubs, Laporta said (via 90min):
Urging footballing authorities to take firmer action against City and PSG, he added:
Barcelona have been stung the most by state-backed PSG
Last month, PSG convinced Kylian Mbappe to extend his stay, snubbing Real Madrid in the process.
The Frenchman’s decision has generated a lot of noise since then, but the Whites are not the only club that have fallen victim to PSG’s financial muscle. It is Madrid’s bitterest rivals Barcelona that have suffered the most at Paris’ hands.
In 2017, PSG activated Neymar’s €222 million release clause, thus luring him away from the Catalonian capital. Had they not compelled the Brazilian to join, Barcelona’s future might have looked a lot brighter.
Last year, Paris capitalized on Barcelona’s inability to renew Lionel Messi’s contract. The Parisians swooped in and offered him a two-year deal worth €779k/week (via Sports Illustrated), which the Argentine accepted.
It has been reported that they are also interested in signing Ousmane Dembele (via Forbes) this summer, making him the third Barcelona forward the Parisians have gone after.
With the Frenchman’s contract expiring in a few days, the Blaugrana cannot do anything to stop the player from leaving for free.
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