Shake up the established order.
This is how to present the ambitions of PSG and Manchester City since their passage under the Qatari and Abu Dhabi flag, 10 and 14 years ago.
This Wednesday, the clubs owned by two powers of the Persian Gulf face each other in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Finally, they seem able to settle at this level permanently to hamper the historic and, also, extremely wealthy Real Madrid, FC Barcelona or Bayern Munich.
A result obtained with billions, in euros or pounds sterling, and not without criticism.
Constantly increasing revenues
PSG and Manchester City are comparable in their initial project, even if the political and image stake seems more important for Qatar than for its neighbor Abu Dhabi. The goal ? Turn these two clubs into a winning machine. To restore Paris and Manchester to past glory (a Cup of Cups each, in 1996 and 1970), the first idea is to invest heavily in players, but also and above all in infrastructure. Bought in 2008 by the united Abu Dhabi Group, City recorded only around one hundred million euros in revenue per season. A figure similar to those of PSG in 2011, with the arrival of Qatar Sports Investments.
Today, the two clubs reach more than 500 million euros in annual revenues, placing themselves just behind the monsters Real Madrid, Barça, Bayern or Manchester United.
All thanks to a paid marketing strategy to surround the athlete.
In 2019, City signed an agreement of 76 million euros per season with the supplier Puma.
A few months later, PSG obtained a similar amount (75 to 80 million euros per season) with the Americans of Nike and its subsidiary Jordan Brand.
A difference still separates the two clubs: income related to TV rights.
City cash 75 million euros more than PSG in this regard.
A gap that the Parisian club is trying to fill with higher ticketing and more diversified commercial operations.
A growing image
From a popular club in their city, PSG and City now broadcast their logo and colors to the four corners of the world.
In 2021, the Rouge et Bleu exceeded the symbolic mark of 100 million fans on social networks.
The "Skyblues" are satisfied with around 75 million followers.
And if the PSG tries to settle in Brazil, in the United States or in China thanks to an international program linked to its academies for the youngest, Manchester City conquers Melbourne (Australia), New York (United States) or Mumbai (India) thanks to its “City Football Group”.
Read also Mercato: PSG-Manchester City, billions spent, two different strategies
“They are ahead of the recruitment strategy with the 10 satellite clubs, notes Youness Bengelloun, former recruiter for the British club in France between 2017 and 2019. It is a fantastic club, ahead of its time. In terms of organization, methodology and the serenity that reigns in this club. City is the very, very high level. The Citizens, in a hyper-competitive Premier League, have already won four league titles since 2008 and are on their way to their fifth crown this season. Since 2012, City has also built around Ferran Soriano, former vice-president of FC Barcelona, and Txiki Begiristain, recruited as technical director from Catalonia. A "blaugrana" tune completed by Pep Guardiola since 2016. PSG, for its part, relieson a strong Al-Khelaïfi-Leonardo-Pochettino axis. A mix between Qatar and former club.
Powerful reviews
The meteoric growth of these new strongholds is not for everyone.
Their best enemy?
Javier Tebas, president of the Spanish LFP.
The one that Pep Guardiola describes as “jealous” qualifies each of his media outings the two clubs as “cheaters”.
The Spanish leader points to an "injustice" made possible by "money from two states".
The huge amounts invested have also resulted in sanctions from UEFA and its financial fair play gendarme.
PSG and City have been accused of inflating or disguising their sponsorship income in order to circumvent the rules. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), however, intervened on two occasions to dismiss the investigation against PSG and overturn the exclusion from European competitions targeting City. Little by little, the Parisian club sees its role evolve, as evidenced by the new presidency of its boss Nasser Al-Khelaïfi at the European Association of Clubs (ECA). Last week, City was one of the founding clubs of the short-lived Super League before retracting.
