Qatar Sports Investment (QSI) are set to sell a minority stake in Paris Saint-Germain — but say they remain fully committed to the French champions.
QSI bought French giants Paris Saint-Germain in 2011 but now, after 12 years of full ownership of the Ligue 1 club, are open to investment from other parties.
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They however insist that they remain fully committed and do not have plans to exit or cede majority control — highlighting their investment in the club’s new state-of-the-art training ground which opened this year and in the Parc des Princes stadium.
“We have no interest in selling the club, this will definitely be a minority stake,” PSG’s chief revenue officer Marc Armstrong said.
“The ownership are more committed to the club than ever, which can be seen by the money we have spent on Poissy (the club’s new training ground) and what we are prepared to spend on the stadium: those are both long-term investments.”
QSI remain keen on expanding their portfolio of football clubs and have shortlisted several across Europe and South America as potential candidates.
Spanish club Malaga, Italian club Sampdoria and Brazilian club Santos are among those who they have monitored after they purchased a 22 per cent stake in Portuguese club Braga a year ago.
US sports-focused private equity group Arctos Partners appear likeliest to invest in PSG having already acquired stakes in clubs across multiple sports, including in basketball and baseball. They hold a stake in Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group, while they acquired a £29.2million stake in Italian club Atalanta in May 2022.
They are keen to continue extending their sports portfolio beyond the US and this week invested in Aston Martin’s Formula One team. Should a deal for PSG progress it is unclear what per cent they would acquire, but the club expect it to value them above €4bn (£3.5bn).
Armstrong added, of negotiated investment: “This is an opportunity to bring our business to the next level and particularly in key markets, such as the United States.
“The company have a history of investing in sport franchises, they have experience and know-how on their advisory board and we can work together to take our business to the next level.”
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(Photo: Antonio Borga/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
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Colin Millar is a Staff Writer for The Athletic. Prior to joining The Athletic, Colin was European Football writer at Mirror Football. From Belfast, he is the author of The Frying Pan of Spain: Sevilla vs Real Betis, Spain’s Hottest Football Rivalry, and he can be found on Twitter/X: @Millar_Colin Follow Colin on Twitter @Millar_Colin
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