The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Hoops feeling at home
Champions League: It’s a whole new ball game for Scotland’ s finest
part from Qatar Investment Authority and more specifically Al-Khelaifi’s friend Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, who became the eighth Emir of Qatar in June 2013.
With assets of £100billion, and stakes in Barclays, Volkswagen and Sainsbury’s not to mention ownership of Harrods, film company Mirimax and The Shard in London, it’s a substantial portfolio.
Rodgers has good reason to be on his guard.
He said: “They’re put together, PSG, to win this competition. There’s no question about that – the quality that they have and what they’ve been building
“Make no bones about it, this is a team who are superior to us”
the world will be on this game and the players are very clear on how to handle these kinds of situations.
“It’s a real cauldron for us. We want to make a positive start in this competition and that’ll be the aim.”
While they have the resources to sweep all before them in Scotland, clearly the shoe is on the other foot when it comes to the financial gulf the Hoops must try to bridge in European football.
Retaining key players and building brick by brick is the blueprint at Parkhead, which is why Rodgers was delighted captain Scott Brown and Jozo Simunovic commited their futures to the club yesterday.
Scotland international Brown, 32, has signed a new deal to 2019 while defender Simunovic has extended his stay at the club until 2021.
Rodgers will rely on both tonight and in the years to come.
He said: “Scott has been a great captain here over many years and certainly in the period I have been here, he has consistently played at a very high level.
“We were talking towards the end of last season and it was a case of just getting the Champions League qualification out of the way and hoping to get something agreed.
“So I am absolutely delighted because he is a very important figure for us, on and off the field, and I have been delighted at his performance level and how tactically he has been playing the game.
“Jozo is a young player