Paris Deputy Mayor: “Parc des Princes does not belong to Qatar.” | OneFootball

Speaking to RMC Sport, the deputy mayor of Paris David Belliard stood firm on the City council’s position on selling the Parc des Princes to Paris Saint-Germain.

Belliard said “This is a game of pokerface. We’ll see what happens in the negotiations. I am not in favour of selling off major Parisian heritage assets to the private sector, and in particular to Qatar.” The deputy mayor, who is also in charge of the City’s transportation, explained “We need to have control over a number of prestigious assets. The Parc des Princes does not belong to Qatar, it belongs to Parisians, and more broadly, to the French. I want it to remain part of this common heritage.”

PSG’s hierarchy was quick to react to the Mayor, Anne Hidalgo’s initial closing of the door on potential talks to bring the Parc des Princes under QSI’s ownership. On Saturday evening a spokesperson said “It is disappointing to hear that the Mayor of Paris wants to dislodge Paris Saint-Germain and its fans from the Parc des Princes,” adding that tens of millions of euros to be paid by Parisian taxpayers will be needed to “maintain the structure of a stadium that is more than 50 years old and in need of a complete renovation.“