PSG president goes into direct confrontation with FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona’s financial gymnastics must face a crackdown, according to European football’s most powerful executive.

In an exclusive interview with POLITICO, Qatari tycoon Nasser al-Khelaifi, who is the president of Paris Saint-Germain football club, said the sport’s European governing body UEFA was set to probe Barcelona, after its controversial summer sale of commercial assets.

The debt-riddled Catalan club raked in hundreds of millions of euros this summer by selling future TV rights and chunks of its digital content arm to investment funds and a crypto firm. The sell-off allowed Barcelona to spend big on top new players, while also complying with Spanish football’s stringent financial rules.

But critics — with al-Khelaifi at the front of the line — have accused Barcelona of recklessly selling off its family silver, possibly breaching European football’s financial regulations and setting a dangerous precedent.

“Is this fair? No, it’s not fair … Is it legal? I’m not sure,” al-Khelaifi said of Barcelona’s asset sale, suggesting regulators would investigate. “If they allow them, others will do the same,” he said. “UEFA of course have their own [financial] regulations. For sure they’re going to look at everything.”

The remarks represent an escalation in the ongoing feud between PSG and the Spanish football establishment, whose domestic league is threatening to complain to the EU over PSG’s Qatari state-backed ownership, which pumps in astronomical sums of money.

Barcelona declined to comment. UEFA said: “All clubs participating in UEFA club competitions are monitored in accordance with UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Sustainability Regulations. Decisions on compliance are taken by the independent Club Financial Control Body (CFCB).”