One of the consistent criticisms lobbed at Paris Saint-Germain since the Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) takeover in 2011 is the ease of which they win Ligue 1 due to their substantial financial advantage over every other French club.
That could all change though with the news that City Football Group (CFG), which also owns Manchester City, is close to a takeover of Ligue 2 side AS Nancy as reported by France Football (via SI.com). The sale is expected to be completed in April for a fee of around €12-€18 million.
Not much is known about the future of the club once CFG is in charge other than former PSG manager Erick Mombaerts is expected to take the reins for next season.
Nancy has won Ligue 2 five times with the last title coming during the 2015-16 campaign. With CFG backing the club and bringing some stability with Mombaerts, it’s expected that they will be competing in Ligue 1 in the very near future. If that happens, it will be very interesting to see how much money is pumped into the club in order to compete with Olympique Lyonnais, Olympique de Marseille, and eventually, Paris Saint-Germain.
The geopolitical rivalry between Qatar (QSI) and the United Arab Emirates (CFG) will likely fuel the rivalry between PSG and Nancy once they’re both in the same league.
As a PSG supporter, I would welcome a newcomer to the top flight of French football to compete with PSG domestically. That competition would only benefit the club in their pursuit of a UEFA Champions League title.
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