Paris Saint-Germain Seeks Record $4B Valuation

A stake sale from France’s top soccer team could have reverberations across Europe.

Qatar Sports Investments is seeking more than a $4.1 billion valuation for Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain in a stake sale.

• QSI is looking to offload a 15% stake in the team which it purchased for around $72.3 million in 2011. 
• The $4 billion figure would easily top the $2.6 billion valuation given to Chelsea in its sale to a consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital Group. The Chelsea deal also included a pledge to invest billions in the team and its stadium.
• The club earned $574.6 million in revenue last year, sixth among all European clubs.

PSG is exploring options to own its own stadium. The club looked into purchasing Parc des Princes from the city of Paris, but said the French capital’s asking price was too high. 

It may instead opt to either build a new stadium or buy the 80,000-capacity Stade de France, which hosts a range of soccer and rugby events.

Soccer Team Inflation?

If PSG’s valuation tops $4 billion, there could be implications for several high-value soccer teams which could be sold soon.

The owners of Manchester United, Liverpool, and Inter Milan are all gauging the market for their teams, respectively ranked the third, fourth, and 15th in value among soccer teams by Forbes. PSG was ranked seventh.