By David Gold
November 22 – French President Nicolas Sarkozy (pictured left) held a secret meeting with Qatar’s Crown Prince Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani (right) in which he encouraged the gulf state to invest in French football and purchase the then financially troubled Paris St Germain, it has been claimed.
The reports emanated in French publication So Foot and claim that the meeting took place on November 23 last year and also included UEFA President Michel Platini and European representative of Colony Capital Sébastien Bazin, who owned Paris St Germain at the time.
At the start of June, 70 per cent of PSG was bought by Qatari Sports Investments, a company set up by Al-Thani in 2005, and they spent more than any other major European club this summer following the takeover, including the €42 million (£36 million/$57 million) capture of Argentine star Javier Pastore.
The Qatari-French links will attract more attention because Platini told Don Balón earlier this year that Sarkozy, a PSG fan, had encouraged him to vote for Qatar’s bid for the 2022 World Cup when the decision was made last December, though he also insisted that he was free to make his own choice.
Sarkozy also gave the prestigious Légion d’honneur to Al-Thani prior to the World Cup host vote in December last year.
Since then, as well as the takeover of the Parisian giants, Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera have also purchased rights to show Ligue 1 football, saving French football from a potentially serious financial crisis after Orange had announced that they were withdrawing from the bidding for the television rights to show the league between 2012-16.
According to reports, Al Jazeera and French counterpart Canal Plus purchased the Ligue 1 television rights for a total of €510 million (£441 million/$690 million).
Paris St Germain, whose owners were losing millions each year, were one of the clubs who could have been affected most by a collapse in French football television revenue, and the President of Qatari Sports Investments, Nasser al-Khelaifi, just so happens to also be the President of Al Jazeera.
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