Nasser al-Khelaifi, PSG boss… Javier Tebas
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have hit back strongly at LaLiga chief Javier Tebas after he mocked the age of their players and the spending of the French club, saying he should deal with the debt and “mismanagement” in LaLiga.
Tebas, a long-standing critic of Qatar-backed PSG’s spending, told a news conference that the French club’s spending was dangerous for football after they signed 35-year-old Sergio Ramos from Real Madrid and 34-year-old Lionel Messi from Barcelona during the recent transfer window.
“PSG looks like the league of legends given the age of some players. LaLiga has young players like Vinicius Junior. The problem of PSG, we will solve it. What PSG are doing is as dangerous as the Super League,” Tebas said.
“We will continue to grow despite the departure of Messi. We will work against the club states. These clubs are as much enemies as the Super League.”
A letter from PSG general secretary Victoriano Melero, seen by Reuters, said Tebas was engaged in “diversion” from Spanish football’s own problems and that he should also deal with rebel clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona who remain committed to a breakaway European Super League project.
Tebas, who has also taken aim at Abu Dhabi-backed Premier League club Manchester City’s spending, has frequently questioned how PSG, who are owned by Qatari Sports Investments, are able to comply with UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations.
“Time after time, you allow yourself to publicly attack the French League, our club, our players — together with players of other clubs — and the fans of French football; while constantly posting insulting and defamatory statements insinuating that we do not conform to the football financial regulations, amongst other unsubstantiated statements,” Melero wrote in a letter on Wednesday.