Javier Tebas, president of La Liga, answered questions from L’Equipe on the sidelines of a conference in Paris on piracy in football. He was asked to give his opinion on Paris Saint-Germain’s stranglehold on French football. He also mentioned his fight against the club’s state ownership (by Qatar).
Tebas: “PSG has power because the others remain silent.”
In Spain, you don’t hesitate to oppose Real Madrid or Barcelona. In France, PSG has enormous power. In your opinion, does it have too much influence?
Personally, I observe that PSG plays a key role in the media, particularly through beIN Sports. I hear what some clubs are saying. But PSG’s power rests on the silence of everyone else. Silence breeds complicity. PSG has power because the others remain silent.
In other words, if PSG has so much power, it’s because a majority of clubs remain silent, because they don’t dare. This dynamic must be broken in French football, in my opinion. This doesn’t mean that PSG won’t remain the best team in France or that it won’t be competitive. But it’s not necessary to wield so much power.
Tebas: “We fight against these practices, whether it’s a state-owned club or not.”
You fought fiercely against PSG, particularly against the idea of a club dependent on a state. Do you still hold this view?
I didn’t fight against PSG as a club, but against some of its practices, especially its failure to comply with Financial Fair Play. This club is historic; it existed before Nasser al-Khelaïfi’s arrival and is an integral part of the history of European and French football. We fight against these practices, whether it involves a state-owned club or not.
It so happens that state-owned clubs, like PSG and Manchester City, have incurred colossal losses year after year. PSG seems to have recently turned things around. At least, partially. They are on the right track. Better late than never.
There are also some questions about piracy and world football (4/6), but the sports daily quickly focused on PSG. Having spent a third of its time with the La Liga president, the media outlet chose to concentrate on an opinion that is already familiar and doesn’t really concern Tebas regarding the management of French football. Given his very clear opposition to PSG in recent years, the Spanish executive unsurprisingly criticized the club vehemently.
One might regret this approach by the newspaper, when other topics were possible. As for Tebas, the argument that there’s a problem arises because it’s not being addressed by those directly involved. This becomes a very strong argument and difficult to counter. Except perhaps by pointing out that the “silence” could also stem from the agreement itself. There is, moreover, support from French football, since PSG also contributes in terms of image and revenue. And its ideas, even if there will always be criticism. And we didn’t need Tebas’s criticism, whose silence regarding Paris these past few months wasn’t exactly unpleasant. Perhaps it was a sign of PSG’s dominance?
