Paris (AFP)
From discreet leader to leader: the boss of PSG and beIN Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, mandated by the League to negotiate with Canal + on unpaid TV rights, is on the front line to defend the economy of French clubs ... despite accusations of conflict of interest.
From the UEFA executive committee, where he sits as a representative of the powerful association of European clubs (ECA), to the World Health Organization, which he has assured of his support to fight against Covid-19 , Al-Khelaïfi "is mobilized on all fronts", slips a member of his entourage.
Main objective for the Qatari leader (46) with multiple hats: to save the economic interests of French football and the revenue from TV rights, Canal + having blocked his payments since the suspension of the championship due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Associated with Olivier Sadran (Toulouse), Jacques-Henri Eyraud (Marseille) and Jean-Pierre Rivère (Nice), "NAK" was mandated by the League Office (LFP) to convince the encrypted channel to pay the sum of 110 million euros, part of which (43 million euros) would be due, according to several executives, because it corresponds to matches "already delivered". An argument that Canal + refutes.
"I am not sure that instead of Nasser, in the same situation, many would have accepted the mission," said Bernard Caïazzo, the president of the union of clubs of L1, Sunday at a press point. "If we had only one doubt about his engagement, we would not have (designated)," he added.
- Conflicts of interest ? -
"Nasser did not offer, we asked him. We must be clear," confirms Gérard Lopez, president of Lille.
Missioning Al-Khelaïfi, also boss of beIN Media Group (parent company of beIN Sports, the other broadcaster of the French Championship), however, raised questions about possible conflicts of interest. Especially if he also had to negotiate ... with beIN, which also stopped its payments.
If the president of the LFP Nathalie Boy de la Tour, a time reluctant for legal reasons, agreed with the decision of her Bureau, the accusation came from Jaume Roures, boss of Mediapro, main broadcaster of the L1 in from next season.
"I can't understand how Nasser leads negotiations where he is involved (...) It's incomprehensible," he lambasted Thursday in an interview with the daily L'Equipe.
To support his remarks, the Catalan leader points to the "strategic alliance" between his two competitors, beIN having signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Canal + while selling him for 330 M EUR part of the broadcasting rights of the L1 until 2024.
Worried about seeing its future "product" weaken, the boss of Mediapro even said he was ready "to take the place of Canal + and beIN" to broadcast the end of the 2019-2020 season "if things do not get better ".
A proposal that "we should study", replied Al-Khelaïfi, not without irony, in L'Equipe.
"The only thing that matters is to save everyone and for that we send our best (elements)", warned Sunday Nicolas Holveck, the new president of Rennes.
- Over EUR 200 million at stake for Paris -
"You would think that he is the one of us who can be the most reassured, that he stays in his corner and takes care of nobody, and it is quite the opposite. He is of an incredible investment" , again supported the Rennes leader.
In a context where the influential Jean-Michel Aulas (Lyon) seems to be stepping back, why does the powerful Parisian boss so wet the shirt?
Despite the support of its wealthy Qatari owner, the risks to PSG finances are enormous: if the championship were not to resume, the Parisian shortfall is estimated at 215 million euros.
For a club that has multiplied its revenues by six since 2011 (EUR 637.8 million in the 2018-2019 financial year), thanks in particular to the signing of XXL sponsorship contracts, this represents 30% of annual turnover!
"This is a very important period. We are not playing the future of the club, but our future room for maneuver," said an internal source.
Because despite the temporary relaxation of the rules of financial fair play, the PSG remains constrained in its spending since its magnificent investments (400 M EUR) in the summer of 2017 and an imposing payroll estimated at 337 M EUR.
Not to mention the prospect of a sluggish transfer market which risks depriving it of new liquidity. Hence the necessary thaw of TV rights, the only potential resource capable of limiting breakage ...
© 2020 AFP