France has been the poor cousin of the top five European nations in league terms but that all is changing with Qatari ownership of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). They have splashed out on the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti, the former manager of Chelsea and AC Milan, as coach. He is reported to be receiving an unprecedented salary for French football of €6m-€7m a year.
France has been the poor cousin of the top five European nations in league terms but that all is changing with Qatari ownership of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). They have splashed out on the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti, the former manager of Chelsea and AC Milan, as coach. He is reported to be receiving an unprecedented salary for French football of €6m-€7m a year.
Qatar Sports Investment (QSI), a fund linked to the Qatari royal family, is in a hurry for PSG to qualify for the Champions League. This is important because Al Jazeera, the Qatari-owned broadcaster with close links to QSI, recently paid €180m for the rights to show Champions League games in France, It also bought rights to French league football.
Since QSI took control it has spent more than €80m on buying players and more will be available in the January transfer window. However, it now looks less likely that David Beckham will add a celebrity wow factor to the club. He may opt to stay at LA Galaxy.
While mega rich investors from the Gulf, Russia and the US have bought English clubs, the Qatari establishment clearly believes that it has found a gap in the market. The game has been less popular than in neighbouring countries and clubs have struggled to generate the funds to attract and hold star players and managers.
French second division club Monaco, which has had financial problems for decades, has recently been taken over by Russian businessman Dmitry Rybolovlev.