This week, the name of the former President of the Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy, resurfaced following the revelations of Mediapart. The former head of state is suspected of having facilitated the sale of Paris Saint-Germain to Qatar in 2011.
More specifically, the 67-year-old would have allowed Sébastien Bazin, an acquaintance of his, who then owned PSG via Colony Capital, to double the sale price of the capital club, at 64 million euros. At the same time, the ex-politician would have worked in return for France, via Michel Platini, to vote in favor of Qatar’s candidacy for the organization of the World Cup 2022. In an interview given to Sunday newspaperSarkozy did not really seek to deny, preferring rather to insist on the positive impact on the PSG since the arrival of the Qataris.
For Sarkozy, PSG can thank Qatar
“The mayor of Paris is, it seems to me, very satisfied that the Qataris own and finance the club of the capital. They are right. But that seems more engaging to me than installing a giant screen…“, slipped the ex-member of the UMP. A way of stinging the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, who decided not to broadcast the World Cup on giant screens in the capital in order to protest against the environmental impact and the treatment of workers in the emirate.
On the front page of the Journal of Sunday October 23:
Nicolas Sarkozy, the truth interview
Good reading ! pic.twitter.com/XEIuKYyedm
— The JDD (@theJDD) October 22, 2022
More generally, Sarkozy tried to avoid controversy by insisting on Qatar’s right to organize an event of this magnitude. “Football is a universal sport and every region of the world must be able to organize an international competition. Football does not belong only to Westerners, whether they are French, English, Italian or American“, asserted the native of Paris. “It is a sport that brings people together. I observe that all the countries that have organized major international events in recent years have been the subject of multiple controversies: China, Russia, Brazil, today Qatar. We should give each of these host countries the chance to demonstrate their expertise and wait for how these events unfold before judging them.» See you from November 20.
