Javier Tebas and Nasser Al-Khelaïfi are not the best of friends. Since taking charge of La Liga, the Spaniard has been extremely critical of the president of Paris Saint-Germain. In an interview with After Foot on RMC, confirmed that his relationship with the Qatari is still lukewarm.
“If you mean by do we have a relationship in the sense of going for a Coke or a coffee together, no, that’s not our relationship. We meet via organisations or international meetings and conventions… There’s no more than that in terms of a relationship. The model he wants for European football is very different from the one that I defend. And that the majority of Spanish clubs defend. And among these clubs, I include Real Madrid and Barca,” said Javier Tebas on RMC.
Javier Tebas also mentioned the possibility that Lionel Messi, who will be out of contract next June with Paris Saint-Germain, joins FC Barcelona during the next summer transfer window. The La Liga boss was very pessimistic.
“If you ask me the question today, Messi’s return to Barça is very complicated [to achieve]. We have to see how it will evolve, but several conditions would have to be met, for Barça players to leave, that there is a reduction in the wage bill. And then you have to know what salary Messi would have at Barça. Barça is not like PSG which has a literal gas tap and money which allows it to have strong financial manoeuvrability. As we speak, it’s complicated to see Messi coming back to Barca,” he added.
Since the start of the season, Lionel Messi, who has played 36 games in all competitions for PSG and at club level, has been involved in 39 goals, achieving 20 goals and 19 assists.
Tebas and Al-Khelaifi are united in their verdict that the future of European football should not be a Super League, as pushed for by the current presidents of LaLiga’s two biggest clubs: Real Madrid and Barcelona. But apart from that, the commonalities between Tebas and Al-Khelaifi are few and far between, with LaLiga unsuccessfully suing PSG last summer for handing Kylian Mbappé extension.
James Thorpe | GFFN