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Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, the powerful tycoon of Paris Saint Germain

The great architect of shaping a ‘galactic’ Paris Saint-Germain is Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, the Qatari president of the French club, who has shaken the world of football with the signing of Argentine star Lionel Messi.

The top leader of PSG has been delighted for the new season by adding former Barcelona captain (Messi) and former Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos to his team. In addition, he brought figures such as Achraf Hakimi, Gianluigi Donnarumma, and Georginio Wijnaldum.

“I am very happy to present Lionel Messi with PSG. It is a historic day for football, ”said the team’s boss on Tuesday.

Al-Khelaïfi has given something to talk about for his management, gathering a constellation of stars in his club, which already has a spectacular trident in attack: the ‘MNM’ (Messi, Neymar and Mbappé).

This, without a doubt, is the best squad that the one born in Doha has made up, about to turn a decade in command of the Parisian team.

“The arrival of Messi to PSG has an effect beyond the ball. Al-Khelaïfi positions Qatar as a global brand. It is an incalculable economic blow with a World Cup just around the corner, ”said Uruguayan journalist Rodrigo Romano.

The Qatari has changed the life of Paris Saint-Germain. When he joined the team on October 7, 2011, there were only two French leagues and one European Cup Winners’ Cup on display. And after their arrival the Parisian team became a steamroller of titles in their country: seven consecutive French championships, six French Cups, eight French Super Cups and six League Cups.

PSG has been a major player in the Champions League in recent years. In the 2019/2020 season they reached the final, but Bayern Munich snatched the Cup from them.

From tennis player to businessman

Nasser bin Ghanim Nassida Al-Khelaïfi has always been a lover of sports. He was one of the most recognized tennis players in his country.

With the Qatar team he played 43 Davis Cup matches between 1992 and 2002. He also participated twice in the 1995 ATP Tour.

His older brother, Khaled, confessed that the sport helped Nasser reduce his shyness. “When he was little he would lower his head when someone looked at him. Tennis gave him confidence ”.

In 2002 he retired from tennis with a profit of 16 thousand euros, but he wanted to remain linked to the sport and decided to head to the business world.

His childhood friendship with the crown prince of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, motivated him to invest with the Qatari royal family, owner of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) company, in charge of managing the large profits with the Government of that country. of the oil and natural gas industry.

Subsequently, the QIA created the company Qatar Sports Investments, with the aim of investing in local and international sports projects.

A graduate of the University of Qatar, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi was chosen by the royal family to take over this initiative, which would end up landing in Paris in 2011.

Seduced by the club in the French capital, the Qatar Investment Authority group initially bought 70% of the team’s shares paying 50 million euros and the following year acquired the remaining 30%.

Nasser Al-Khelaïfi has become a benchmark for the leadership. The president of PSG is also part of the Uefa executive group, he is president of the Federation of Tennis, Squash and Badminton in Qatar, and he is president of the Bein Sports chain, of the firm Al Jazeera Sports, which has 22 channels of TV.

To attend so many commitments, he barely sleeps three hours. “I’ve never known a day without wanting to sleep,” admitted his right-hand man, Yousef Alobaidly, CEO of Bein Sports.

Data

Nasser Al-Khelaïfi is considered one of the 100 richest people in the world. His fortune is 16,000 million dollars.

The Qatari businessman won the French Sport Business award in 2012.
More than 1200 million euros has been the investment of the Qatari group since it arrived at PSG in 2011.

Neymar (222 million euros), Mbappé (180 million euros) and Édinson Cavani (64 million euros) are the three most expensive players that PSG has paid in transfers.

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