Hidalgo does not want to sell the Parc des Princes, Paris SG ready "to leave their house"

Dead end. "It's a firm and definitive position. This is an exceptional heritage of Parisians," said the elected socialist to the readers of the daily. The municipal team said so far open to dialogue, even if the sale was not its "priority option".

After this publication, a spokesperson for the club said he was "disappointed and surprised" that the Town Hall wanted to "dislodge Paris Saint-Germain and its supporters from the Parc des Princes".

"The mayor is forcing PSG to leave her house," he regrets. The club repeats that it needs a stadium larger than the current 45.000 seats, a modest capacity compared to its European competitors and their own stadiums between 60.000 and 90.000 seats.

Since 2011 and the takeover of PSG by QSI (Qatar Sports Investments), the club of planetary stars Leo Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar has won eight French championships and six French Cups, in particular. But he failed to conquer the Champions League, his main objective, failing in the final in 2020.

"Greed"

The club also recalls that it has already invested 85 million euros in a tool that does not belong to it and that the town hall, by refusing to sell it to it, is sitting on a promise from QSI to inject "500 M EUR additional" to modernize and enlarge the enclosure of the Porte de Saint-Cloud.

"It is obvious that such a large investment will only be made by PSG if we become owners of the Parc des Princes", plague the club.

"By refusing our very significant investment (...) the mayor is imposing a tax burden of several million euros on Parisian taxpayers", insists the spokesperson, "to maintain the structure of a stadium which has more than 50 years old and needs a complete renovation".

Reached by AFP, a PSG leader points to the "greed" of the mayor of Paris, and adds that the club "does not want to be hostage to the town hall in these negotiations".

This source evokes a "financial suicide", because the municipality would have to pay "30 million euros just to bring it up to environmental standards, the stadium in its current state is not + green + at all, if ever Ms. Hidalgo thought seduce elected environmentalists with this decision".

As for the supporters, who only consider PSG at the Park, "the mayor's position completely ignores them", plagues the leader.

"Seven to eight times the price"

The former candidate of the Socialist Party for the presidency did not mention the hypothesis of a departure from the club. "We must support PSG in its desire and need for renovation, increase in capacity, modernization of the Park", even if "part of the stadium is on the ring road, so we cannot dig ", she says.

Inaugurated first in 1897 then in 1972 with its new architecture, the former velodrome has hosted the Parisian club since 1974. The current lease, which came into effect in 2014, runs for thirty years.

At the end of November, the president of PSG Nasser Al-Khelaïfi had dug up the hatchet on this subject. "They are pressuring us to leave," said the Qatari leader in a vitriolic interview against the municipality.

The club did make a buyout offer, but according to first deputy Emmanuel Grégoire quoted by Le Parisien, the amount offered by PSG was 40 million euros. "It's cheaper than Paredes", the Argentine midfielder "bought 50 million euros", he had mocked, drawing the wrath of Mr. Al-Khelaïfi.

The leader of PSG contacted by AFP did not want to confirm these figures but evokes a price asked of the club "seven to eight times higher than the own evaluations made by the town hall".

"Everyone loses in the position taken by the Mayor. PSG is now forced to find alternative options to relocate the club", concludes the spokesperson for the French champions. "This is not the outcome the club, nor its supporters, were hoping for."