Paris City Council hopping mad at PSG

Article posted by Coliseum, December 9^th, 2022

Image: Stade de France, Zakarie Faibis, CC BY-SA 4.0

French giants Paris Saint-Germain F.C. (PSG) have been embroiled in a row with the Paris City Council recently over the former very keen to buy their home ground the Le Parc des Princes in Paris, France, and the latter in no mood to sell it to the top gun as they say the club is offering “peanuts money” to buy the stadium.

‘BESOCCER’ stated that the President of the top-flight club, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, earlier hinted at the possibility of moving across town to the 80,000 seater Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France, following their futile bid to buy the Parc des Princes after repeated attempts.

The Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain or simply PSG, is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football.

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The Le Parc des Princes is an all-seater football stadium in Paris, France, in the South-West of the French capital, inside the 16^th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin and Stade Roland Garros. The stadium, with a seating capacity of 47,929 spectators, has been the home of Paris Saint-Germain since 1974.

‘BESOCCER’ further stated that the Ligue 1 club mulling to move to Stade de France has been interpreted as an “insult” by the Paris City Council. Emmanuel Grégoire, First Assistant to the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, came down heavily on the PSG boss over their decision to move to Stade de France.

‘Peanuts Money’

Fumed Emmanuel Grégoire, “We have not categorically refused to sell the stadium to PSG but the same should come with the right price offer. The PSG is offering us 40 million euros. Do you think the stadium value is less than the PSG player Leandro Paredes who has been bought on loan by the Serie A club Juventus F.C. (Italy) for 50 million euros? Their offer of 40 million euros is hilarious.”

Leandro Daniel Paredes is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Serie A club Juventus F.C. (Italy), on loan from Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain, and the Argentina national team.

‘Taken for a Ride’

‘sportskeeda’ stated that the PSG have been playing at the Parc des Princes since 1974, and the club is planning an upgrade to their home ground. The French side is ready to upgrade the stadium, but is not ruling out the possibility of moving out.

Al-Khelaifi claims that the club has been in discussion to develop the stadium for the last five years, but all efforts to do so have come to a naught.

Added Al-Khelaifi, “The first choice is for us to stay, but I don’t think the City Council wants us to stay. They are pressuring us to leave. We have been in discussions with them for the last five years to redecorate the stadium but every time we are handed down false promises. We are totally fed up. We want a fair deal. I love the Parc des Princes, and have great regard for the venue. The City Council thinks we are monkeying around on the revamp plans and our bid to move to the Stade de France. But, we are dead serious about moving to Stade de France. We are looking at alternative options because we no longer feel welcome at the Parc des Princes. The City Council is just taking us for a ride.”

‘sportskeeda’ further stated that the Stade de France is reported to be an option for the Ligue1 champions, while there are two greenfield sites also on their radar.

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