PSG still in Real’s financial shadow

Paris Saint-Germain smashed the world-record transfer fee last year to sign Neymar from Barcelona, but despite the big spending driven by their Qatari owners, the French club still lag behind Real Madrid in terms of financial muscle.

Real (€647.6m) made €200m more in turnover than PSG (€486.2m) last year, according to Deloitte. As the Spanish giants host Unai Emery’s side in Champions League first leg, can the Ligue 1 leaders expect to match their opponents off the pitch?

In the world of club football, Real have always stood alone in terms of sporting achievements as record 12-time European champions, but in recent years they have also dominated financially. The club posted the world’s highest annual turnover for a decade until recently being overtaken by Manchester United, fuelled by the TV rights. Real’s prosperity in the 21st century was born from president Florentino Perez’s ‘Galactico’ transfer strategy of paying whatever it took to buy the world’s biggest stars.

The club’s other crucial asset is its Santiago Bernabeu stadium, to which Perez wants to add a roof, new reception areas, a shopping centre and even a hotel — costing an estimated €400m

The difference between the two clubs’ reach can be seen by their respective social media followings -- Real have approximately 190 million followers online compared to only 50 million for PSG.

But PSG have plenty of scope to make more money.

Sports marketing specialist Frank Pons believes the Parisians need to continue copying Real’s Galactico transfer tactics if they’re to bridge the gap.

“In terms of reputation, transfers of €400m in total for Neymar and (Kylian) Mbappe put (Paris) on the map very quickly. This takes years to achieve normally, but they managed to do it quickly,” he said.

But, perhaps the biggest reason Real have an edge over PSG is because of on-field success, as the French side have still never even reached a Champions League final.

MADRID: