Bernard Caïazzo, former shareholder and co-president of AS Saint-Etienne, spoke to Foot Mercato after last week’s “famous” Complément d’Enquête issue about Paris Saint-Germain and its president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi. Although he was cut off at the last moment of the report, he came to the Parisian manager’s defense.
Caïazzo “Nasser can’t do what he wants, play on Qatar’s money.”
“Doesn’t this double-hatting of PSG president and BeIN chairman in the middle of a TV rights meeting bother you?”
I’ve been involved in all the tenders since 2008, and BeIN has saved the situation several times. Nasser saved the situation. And then there’s the problem of profitability. Nasser can’t do what he wants, play on Qatar’s money.
People think he can pull out 600 million just like that, as a favour. It’s just not possible. After that, it’s true that there’s some irritation, but that’s not Nasser’s character.
Caïazzo “He has a mission and wants to succeed in all his ambitions.”
What exactly is Nasser Al-Khelaïfi’s character?
Everyone who goes to the Carré VIP will tell you that he’s the most delightful of presidents. (…) The best host of all the clubs is Nasser, and everyone will say so. But he’s like everyone else, he has his faults. He has certainties, I told him.
When you have convictions, that’s fine, but certainties are something else. Nasser’s flaw is that he’s a competitor, he’s absolutely determined to succeed. He has a mission and wants to succeed in all his ambitions, but that’s normal, because the Emir has placed enormous trust in him.”
Even if it’s necessary to take a step back from each statement, even when it’s positive, since everyone is there to defend their position and point of view, it’s interesting to see a French soccer executive point out that Nasser Al-Khelaïfi doesn’t take advantage of his many hats to benefit PSG or beIN SPORTS. Of course, the idea is to move forward. But he is well aware that for that to happen, French soccer needs to progress.
That’s why he’s worked hard to achieve this and has offered to help. It’s sad to see how some people reject this idea and think that he can do what he likes with money from Qatar and the LFP. Caïazzo isn’t the first to point out the help offered, so let’s hope that one day it will be listened to at least as much as the critics and theories of an exploitation of French soccer.
