By Mark Baber
December 21 – PSG, owned by the Qatar Investment Authority, has reportedly agreed a deal with the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) worth between €150 million and €200 million a season.
The motivation for the contract is to drive a vast publicity campaign to promote the image of Qatar, though does not include naming rights. The four year deal will have retroactive effect on the financial year 2012 with €150 million being paid this season rising to up to €200 million in the 2015-16 season, depending on performance factors such as participation in the Champions League and in line with the club’s payroll budget.
Although the QTA deal has no known equivalent in football, it would follow in the footsteps of other ambitious clubs with wealthy owners who wish to invest heavily in expansion whilst staying within the UEFA financial fair play regulations. Examples include Manchester City who signed a £400m deal with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways for stadium naming rights and Chelsea who signed a sponsorship deal with Russian energy company Gazprom.
In June, there were reports that PSG had run up an operating loss of €90 million which would, if true, have put them at odds with UEFA’s FFP regulations. The purchases of Ezequiel Lavezzi, Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic add up to €90 million.
PSG’s current deal with the Emirates airline is worth just €3.5 million per season.
The club director-general, Jean-Claude Blanc had discussions on Tuesday with the Direction National du Control de Gestion (DNCG) who are responsible for auditing French football. It is understood that during this meeting Blanc presented PSG’s plans including the QTA deal and a budget for staff which will reach €200 million during the 2014-2015 season.
After the meeting Blanc said: “Paris Saint-Germain are developing all our revenue streams. We are fortunate to be in a major sport such as football in a major city like Paris. We are the only club in Paris and we have the ambition to be a major team.”
“Being a leading football club in Paris allows us to develop important revenue sources. These revenues, in turn, allow us to develop our ambitions on the sporting side of things, by attracting top-level players.”
“With the income which is ours for six months now, we are able to support this investment policy and meet the rules laid down by the DNCG or UEFA.”
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