Paris Saint-Germain have decided to move their home ground elsewhere, away from the iconic Parc De Princes, after their bid to buy the French national stadium failed.
Parc De Princes is under the jurisdiction of Paris and serves as one of the country’s national stadiums. However, it has been on lease to PSG since the club’s formation in August 1970. The owners of the club, Qatar Sports Investment, have been trying to buy the stadium from the city but have been rebuffed a few times.
A final offer and rebuff was made recently, with the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, insisting that the stadium is not for sale, leading to the club’s decision to look elsewhere for a permanent homeground.
This is in spite of PSG’s €85 million in the stadium in the last few years to improve the facilities and increase the capacity and their readiness to commit another €500 million into refurbishment and a bigger extension to allow the club to keep growing and competing with other top European clubs.
A statement from Mayor Hidalgo to Le Parisien newspaper on Saturday reads: “We have a very clear position. The Parc des Princes is not for sale, and it will not be sold. This is a firm and definitive position. It is an exceptional heritage for Parisians.”
PSG have also come out with a statement of theirs, expressing disappointment in the city’s refusal to sell them the stadium.
Their statement to ESPN reads: “It is surprising and disappointing to hear that the mayor of Paris is taking a position which, effectively, will force PSG, our fans and communities away from the Parc des Princes; while also — quite remarkably — adding tens of millions of Euros to the taxpayer burden to maintain the structure of the building, which is now 50 years old and in need of renovation.
“It is regrettable that the Mayor is now suddenly foreclosing — definitively — the sale discussions we’ve been having for a long time, with the club now sadly forced to advance alternative options for our home, which is not the outcome the club or our fans were hoping for.”
However, Mayor Hidalgo, who has been unpopular in the opinion polls since her re-election in 2020, is reportedly interested in maintaining a working relationship with the club with an aim to get them to invest some more in the stadium’s development.
But PSG are clear with their intentions: they will not invest any more large sums on the stadium if they do not own it outrightly.
Meanwhile, PSG are leading the nominees for the upcoming FIFA The Best awards.
Kylian Mbappe’s equalising volley in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final against Argentina is nominated for the Puskas award for the best goal scored in 2022. He is also nominated alongside club teammates Lionel Messi, Achraf Hakimi and Neymar.
The finalists for each category will be announced in early February.
