Paris Saint-Germain FC ownership and finances

These massive expenditures have translated in PSG's domination of French football but have not yet brought home the coveted UCL trophy as well as causing problems with UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations.

[1] Main backers Guy Crescent, Pierre-Étienne Guyot and Henri Patrelle were stuck with a problem related to the financing of the project until they met Real Madrid president Santiago Bernabéu.

[2] The club's budget went from 90 to 120 million francs and star signings like Valdo, David Ginola, George Weah, Raí and Youri Djorkaeff ensured several trophies between 1993 and 1998.

[10] Canal+ became the majority shareholder in 1997 (56.7%) and then sole owner in 2005 after buying out the Association Paris Saint-Germain (34%) and historical club leaders Alain Cayzac, Bernard Brochand and Charles Talar (9.3%).

[2][10] Between 1991 and 1998, PSG president Michel Denisot ensured the club's financial health aided by the team's sporting success and increased broadcasting revenues.

After considerably reducing losses, Colony sent out a message in 2010, stating that they were looking for new investors to help make PSG a title contender in the coming years.

[14] Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, immediately named QSI chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi as club president after the takeover.

[28] UEFA's revised valuation saw PSG's deficit for the 2013–14 season reach €107m — more than double the amount allowed under FFP rules, which limit losses to €45m over the last two years.

[43] Under pressure from UEFA, the club did not renew their controversial seven-year nation branding agreement with the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) when it expired in June 2019, embarking in the process of building a new business model to pursue the goal of economic emancipation from its Qatari owners.

[34] Deprived of their most lucrative partner since the Qatari takeover, PSG relied on their contracts with French multinational Accor (€65m/year) as well as American brands Nike (€80m/year) and Air Jordan (€67m/year) between 2019 and 2022.

[47][48] The QTA, the Qatar National Bank (QNB), Aspetar, beIN Sports and Ooredoo pay around €10m a year each to be premium partners of the club.

"[51] Another notable non-Qatari based deal is that of American online lifestyle company GOAT, which pays €17m a year (2022–2025) for its logo to appear on the sleeves of the team's shirt.

Off the field, there is uncertainty over the future of the Parc des Princes as the team's home ground since PSG are having difficulty discussing with the stadium's owner, the city of Paris.

The club want to own their arena outright and, if conversations with local authorities fail, PSG could relocate to the Stade de France or build a new site altogether.

[2] In the time period of 1991–1998, the capital club were in good financial health thanks to the increase in TV rights, the team's excellent sporting performances and the rise in attendance at the Parc des Princes.

[20][22] Ahead of the 2011–12 campaign, club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi announced plans of making PSG profitable again, a feat not seen since the tenure of Michel Denisot in the 1990s.

[71] Paris Saint-Germain played without a shirt sponsor until the 1972–73 season, when the club signed a deal with Canadian grocery store chain Montreal.

[73] Between 1986 and 1995, the club had two sponsors or more in its shirts, including RTL, Canal+, La Cinq, TDK, Alain Afflelou, Commodore, Müller, Tourtel, SEAT and Lipton.

[77][83] PSG announced a long-term contract extension with Nike in June 2019, which is now one of European football's most lucrative and the biggest sponsorship agreement in the club's history.

[84] The French capital team and Nike-owned basketball brand Air Jordan initially announced a three-year partnership in September 2018, but that was subsequently extended.

[87] After becoming club president in June 1974, Hechter signed Algerian virtuoso Mustapha Dahleb, considered PSG's first star and for which they paid a then French record €205k to Sedan.

The club signed Nigerian genius Jay-Jay Okocha from Fenerbahçe for €12.4m in 1998 and then paid Real Madrid €34.5m for the return of prodigal son Nicolas Anelka in 2000.

[102] The record however, did not stand for long, with French free-kick specialist Laurent Robert joining Newcastle United for €14.33m in 2001,[103] followed by Anelka's €15m move to Manchester City in 2002,[104] and finally by Ronaldinho, whose switch to Barcelona for €30m in 2003 stood as the club's priciest sale until 2016.

[105] Following their takeover by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) in June 2011, Paris Saint-Germain broke the French transfer record with the purchase of Argentine playmaker Javier Pastore from Palermo for €42m that summer.

[24] On the other hand, David Luiz and Gonçalo Guedes were also sold for large transfer fees thus surpassing Ronaldinho at the top of PSG's most expensive sales.

[111] Dubbed by media outlets as “the transfer of the century,” the Brazil playmaker became the most expensive player in the world after Paris activated his €222m release clause to snatch him from Barcelona.

[36] Since then, PSG were forced to drastically reduce their spending on transfers due to budget constraints imposed by UEFA's Financial Fair Play.

[116] In June 2022, club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi announced the end of the Galácticos era to focus on a team-first approach, including greater financial sustainability and the development of young talent.

[117] Instead, PSG bet on promising prospects such as Warren Zaïre-Emery, Vitinha, Bradley Barcola, Lucas Beraldo, Manuel Ugarte, João Neves, Willian Pacho, Lee Kang-in and Désiré Doué.

[117][118][120] Some of these youngsters came at a cost, though, with three of them breaking into PSG's top five most expensive signings: Randal Kolo Muani from Eintracht Frankfurt for €75m,[121] Khvicha Kvaratskhelia from Napoli for €70m,[122] and Gonçalo Ramos from Benfica for €65m.