PSG Owner Aiming to Dominate European Football for the Next Several Years With Neymar & Mbappe
Paris Saint-Germain owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi must be feeling pretty proud of himself right now, having secured two of the biggest deals in the history of football in a single summer.
The French giants managed to reel both Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in during the break, shocking the world when they pried the Brazilian from the mighty Barcelona.
Now that they've recruited the two prolific attackers, PSG look to be in a very good place, and are big favourites to win the Champions League this season.
Speaking in an exclusive with the Telegraph, the PSG chairman opened up on the process that saw his club capture two of the biggest talents in world football.
“Today the investment that we did is long-term and I am sure in two years, three years maximum, everyone will say ‘look at Paris Saint-Germain, they did a fantastic job’,” he said.
“It’s a good deal that they signed now, because players’ transfer costs, salaries as well as clubs’revenues are increasing rapidly in the world of sports and specifically in football. So we are very confident and satisfied with our decisions.
“I spoke to the owner of Globo TV in Brazil and he said: ‘Guess how much people in Brazil watched the presentation of Neymar - just the presentation, not the first match.' I said ‘five million?’ He said ‘no’. I said ’10 million?’ He said ‘no - 85 million’. It’s amazing.
Al-Khelaifi admitted that it was quite difficult getting Mbappe from AS Monaco as all of the big clubs made attempts, with some even making better cash offers.
“It was very competitive, trust me,” he revealed. “Some other clubs offered him more than us.
"Every big club wanted him. But we explained to him our project and the ambition of the club and he’s French, he’s a Parisian and he had the club in his heart. He wanted to stay in France and defends the French colours in the Champions League. It’s deep inside him.
“He wants to write history here and he has history here already – you saw the pictures of him (at his unveiling) when he was here 10 years ago? A picture does not lie. He loves the club and it’s his dream to play for Paris Saint-Germain.”
The owner reckons that his team will be challenging for major silverware for the next several years, also claiming that he's looking to keep his stars as long as he possibly can.
“This is what we have been building for the last six years,” he explains. “That’s something we
need to highlight. The assets that we have today – even Neymar and Mbappe – they represent investments for the next eight to 10 years.
"Mbappe is 18 years old. He can definitely play another 15 years. Neymar can play another nine, 10 years. We will do our best to keep them as long as possible."