Paris Saint-Germain supporters split on possible club move

The Parc des Princes, where PSG plays, on March 11, 2020. © Franck Fife/AFP

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3 mins

Will the Parc des Princes soon be deserted by Paris Saint-Germain?

The football club wanted to buy it to enlarge and renovate it, but for the town hall, it's no.

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The Parc des Princes " 

is not for sale

 " and " 

will not be sold

 " to Paris Saint-Germain.

While the club was aiming to buy the stadium from the town hall of Paris, the mayor Anne Hidalgo decided: it is out of the question.

“It is a firm and definitive position.

This is an exceptional heritage of Parisians", she insists in an interview with readers of Le

Parisien

, while her team has said so far that they are open to dialogue, even if the sale was not their " 

option .

priority

 ”.

This statement by the mayor of Paris follows the threat of the Qatari owners of PSG to leave the historic grounds of the club if it were not ceded to them, a condition according to them for carrying out modernization and expansion work up to 500 millions of euros.

Insufficient capacity

For their part, the supporters are divided.

If for Thibaut, a fan of PSG, the Parc des Princes is a “

legendary

” stadium, the club has changed status and the current 48,000 seats are no longer enough “

We need a bigger stadium.

We should be able to enlarge or renovate it in a way to stay here 

, ”he said at the microphone of RFI.

This is exactly what

Anne Hidalgo, who wishes

“ 

to support PSG in its desire and need for renovation, increased capacity, modernization of the Park

 ”.

Even if "

 part of the stadium is on the ring road, so we can't dig

 ", nuance the

mayor of Paris

.

Inaugurated first in 1897 then in 1972 with its new architecture, the former velodrome has been hosting the Parisian club since 1974. The current emphyteutic lease, which entered into force in 2014, runs for 30 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

 ", had dropped the Qatari leader in a vitriolic interview against the municipality, recalling having " 

invested 80 million euros

 " - before Euro 2016 - in a stadium which " 

is not to us

 ”.

The club did make a buyout offer, but “ 

very low, very far from the estimate we had

 ,” said sports assistant Pierre Rabadan at the time.

According to a source close to the Parisian club quoted by AFP, the evaluation carried out by the town planning services of the city was " 

ten times higher than what we had as a price

 ".

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.

“ 

Have a true identity

A possible move is seen rather favorably by some supporters.

Building a new stadium that will allow us to have a real identity and know that this stadium belongs to us

,” thinks a PSG fan.

Others are more dubious.

It will hurt my heart a little

, laments a young fan.

It will be a little disturbing because it might not be the same club anymore.

After to see where does it move and what is the building.

He must not move too far anyway and he must stay in Paris because here we are, the Paris club

.

»

PSG is already building a training center in Poissy, 30 km from Paris.

The former velodrome has hosted the Parisian club since 1974 and the current lease, which came into effect in 2014, was due to end in 2044.

(

And with

AFP)

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