PSG president Nasser al-khelaifi on buying world’s best players, Neymar and Mbappe
Paris St-germain’s ambitious president Nasser al-khelaifi believes his record outlay will pay off, he tells Jason Burt
Tucked away before the players’ tunnel at the Parc des Princes, there is a private area set aside for Nasser al-khelaifi. It is here that the president of Paris Stgermain has his stadium office and it is here that one of the most influential men in world football formulates his ambitious plan for the club to tackle the elite of the European game.
In this exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph, and ahead of a new Champions League campaign, Al-khelaifi explains how the world record investments in Neymar and Kylian Mbappe will prove value for money and eventually be regarded as “a great deal”, and how the transfers are part of PSG’S aim to become “one of the best clubs in the world and one of the best sports brands”.
Sitting around a table, the softly spoken Al-khelaifi also reiterates that PSG are confident they will comply with the Financial Fair Play rules, with Uefa having launched an investigation after the signing of Neymar for €222million (£201million) from Barcelona and then the acquisition of Mbappe for a loan this season from Monaco with a fee of €145million being paid in the next two seasons (2018-2019 and 2019-2020) with €35million in potential add-ons before 2022. Amortisation of the deal with Monaco, as the one with Barcelona, starts this season and runs over five years.
“We have been working very hard for the past six years to build the revenues of the club and they have increased through ticketing, sponsoring, merchandising, match day and TV rights from €90million to approximately €500million, with the last two seasons running profits,” Al-khelaifi says. “We now plan to continue to increase our revenue from between 20 and 40 per cent. We have a year to meet FFP criteria. We have until June 30 2018. So I tell everybody, ‘relax and think about your project. We think about building our project’.
“There is pressure from other clubs [to investigate] but I don’t think Uefa will be influenced by the pressure because they are very professional and very serious. For the thousandth time I am very confident. We respect all clubs and we expect the same in return. We have been investing in the French league and to be highly competitive in the Champions League. We are respecting all rules and regulations.”
Ahead of tonight’s game away to Celtic, in a group that also includes Bayern Munich and Anderlecht, that “project” has been given a significant boost by the arrivals of Neymar, Mbappe and Dani Alves.
“Today the investment that we did is long-term and I am sure in two years, three years maximum, everyone will say, ‘Look at Paris St-germain, they did a fantastic job’,” Al-khelaifi says. “It’s a good deal that they signed now, because players’ transfer costs, salaries as well as clubs’ revenues are increasing rapidly in the world of sports and specifically in football. So we are very confident and satisfied with our decisions.”
If there was a parochial dimension to the Mbappe deal – the player comes from Paris, and was hailed as a returning hero when he was unveiled at Parc des Princes last week – the Neymar transfer was designed to capture the attention of the planet.
The plan has worked, a point underlined by a story Al-khelaifi tells surrounding the player’s presentation to the world’s media last month. “I spoke to the owner of Globo TV in Brazil and he said: ‘Guess how many people in Brazil watched the presentation of Neymar – just the presentation, not the first match’. I said, ‘Five million?’ He said, ‘No’. I said, ‘10million?’ He said, ‘No – 85million’.
“Today we have a good problem to solve – we don’t have enough jerseys. This is huge for us. I was in the US last week and I saw the jersey of Paris St-germain everywhere. It is the same in Asia and Latin America, the Middle East.”
PSG have already seen a commercial uplift since Neymar
‘We have a year to meet the FFP criteria. I tell everyone to relax’
was signed – shirt sales went up 10 times on the day he signed and 75 per cent more visitors have been to their Paris stores in one month alone, selling 210,000 PSG products.
“Neymar is an international superstar,” Al-khelaifi says. “Everybody is asking, ‘What’s going on in France and in the French league? Neymar is playing for Paris St-germain.’ Even people who are not interested in football are saying that.
“Neymar’s first match in Guingamp was broadcast to 183 countries. It was amazing for France and the French league. It is good also for the Champions League because you will have another club competing – I am not saying, by any means, we are there yet – but it’s important to have new clubs coming and clubs with ambition.”
Signing Mbappe was another landmark moment. Once again, there was no shortage of suitors, with Real Madrid the chief rivals for an 18-year-old who had previously been courted by Arsenal, Chelsea and just about every big club in Europe.
“It was very competitive, trust me,” Al-khelaifi says. “Some other clubs offered him more than us. Every big club wanted him. But we explained our project and the ambition of the club and he’s French, he’s a Parisian and he had the club in his heart. He wanted to stay in France and defend the French colours in the Champions League. It’s deep inside him.”
Al-khelaifi explains how the deal was done. “We met him and the family three times over a couple of months and they didn’t talk about money, at all,” he says. “This is incredible. I was surprised. We talked about the project two or three times and then you think, ‘We want to start the negotiations’ and they were not concerned about that because they just wanted to talk about the vision of football, the plan for the player.”
Neymar is 25, Mbappe 18 and, Al-khelaifi says, it is important for PSG to have a young team. “This is what we have been building for the last six years,” he explains. “The assets that we have today – even Neymar and Mbappe – they represent investments for the next eight to 10 years. Mbappe can play another 15 years. Neymar another nine, 10 years. We will do our best to keep them as long as possible.”
Last season PSG suffered a traumatic Champions League exit to Barcelona, losing the second leg 6-1 in an extraordinary turnaround after winning 4-0 in Paris.
Ahead of this year’s competition, Al-khelaifi states that, although he does not want to “put pressure” on the players, winning it eventually is “absolutely” the goal. “Today we are stronger but it’s football,” he says. “I am very optimistic and excited to play our first Champions League match at Celtic. I know they have amazing fans and the stadium and the atmosphere will be incredible. I cannot wait.” Celtic v Paris St-germain is live on BT Sport 3 tonight. Kick-off 7.45pm