Nasser Al-Khelaifi has announced that Paris Saint-Germain will leave their home, the Parc des Princes, after failing to reach an agreement to purchase the iconic stadium.
PSG president Al-Khelaifi has been clear – either the City of Paris sells the Parc des Princes, or the reigning Ligue 1 champions will leave. The City has also been clear, with the Mayor’s office repeating the line that the Parc des Princes is part of Paris’ “heritage” and therefore it is not for sale.
“I’ll repeat it: we are ready to study and assist in the transformation of the Parc. I’ll also say this again today, and in good faith to everyone: there will be no sale of the Parc des Princes. It is the heritage of the Parisian people. The subject is closed,” Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo told Ouest-France earlier this week.
That comment has seemingly brought closure for PSG too. Their future no longer lies at the Parc des Princes. Speaking after a meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee, Al-Khelaifi announced PSG’s departure from the stadium.
“It’s easy to say now that the stadium is no longer for sale. We know what we want. We have wasted years trying to buy the Parc. It’s over now. We want to move out of the Parc,” said PSG’s president, who added that the club will no longer fund works on developing the Parc des Princes.
With the Stade de France not for sale, PSG will now have to construct a new stadium. An emergency meeting has been called on Thursday in order to concretely discuss this option.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle