There are some very big claims coming out of France on Monday, as Le Parisien reveal that QSI, the major backers at Paris Saint-Germain, are well and truly in talks to sort something out with Leeds United.
They don’t waste any time, starting the article by explaining that Marcelo Bielsa’s club should expect to become the Ligue 1 champions’ ‘little brother’ in the ‘coming weeks or months’.
Qatar are holding talks via their Qatari Sports Investments (QSI) group, with Nasser Al Khelaifi, Paris Saint-Germain’s president, in the middle of all discussions.
A source ‘close to the affair’ has confirmed to Le Parisien that Qatar are ‘getting closer’ to an agreement to buy out Leeds ‘with the objective of broadening their portfolio in English football’ and chose the Championship side ‘after studying perspectives of entry in the English market over the past two years’.
Leeds’ failure to gain promotion to the Premier League didn’t put the investors off, and while the price of the takeover remains a ‘well kept secret’, it’s expected to be ‘far superior’ to the €79m spent to acquire Paris Saint-Germain back in 2011.
There is also no guarantee that QSI will buy all of Andrea Radrizzani’s shares in one go.Naturally, some expectations will come with this investments, with promotion as early as next season (if possible) to eventually end up in the top part of the Premier League.
Of course, the main aim in the long run for QSI is to make money, with the TV rights for England’s top-tier, as well as the general huge exposure of the league, a huge draw.
As the saying goes, you have to spend money to make money, and that’s what they’re intent on doing for now.
Furthermore, the acquisition of Leeds shouldn’t affect QSI’s ownership of Paris Saint-Germain, at least short-term, with another ten years of partnership predicted before a separation takes place.
This, however, could change depending on how quickly Leeds grow, as an owner cannot have more than one club playing in European competitions, meaning something would need to be sorted à la RB Leipzig/RB Salzburg to avoid problems.
The article by Le Parisien is by far the most detailed and confident we’ve seen on this topic, and there is real optimism this could happen sooner rather than later.
