The richest football club in the world, Paris Saint-Germain, are expecting to to suffer massive financial losses because of the coronavirus crisis according to their chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
Al-Khelaifi is involved in negotiations to break the stalemate between France’s professional clubs and TV rights holders Canal+ and beIN Sports after the pair refused to pay the latest installment in their agreement because no fixtures are taking place.
Consequently, teams in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 are under very serious financial threat with state-aided partial unemployment and a freeze on employers’ charges related to players’ salaries all that is keeping some afloat.
“Financially, the impact of the current events, as well as the uncertainty that it brings with it, is considerable for a club like ours,” said the Qatari to RMC Sport.
“It is no secret that our wage bill is substantial.
“At the end of the season, we risk suffering colossal losses. We will face that, but nothing will be simple — it will take time to strike a balance.”
PSG, with superstars Neymar and Kylian Mbappe have one of the biggest wage bills in Europe, not just France, and Al-Khelaifi made it clear that he expects the team to accept the recommended pay cuts put forward by the UNFP (National Union of Professional Footballers) after talks with the Ministry of Economy and Finance so that the clubs’ burdens ease.
“I expect an effort from the players for the club,” he stated, adding: “They know their responsibilities.”
If a state owned team like PSG is facing massive financial losses because of the coronavirus crisis, think of how the other clubs around Europe are doing.
When fans finally get to walk into a stadium again in 2021 to support their team, I fear that football will look very different, as I anticipate that a lot of teams, a lot of history is going to disappear in the coming weeks and months.
