Paris Saint-Germain Finances 2021/22

The Luxury Gap

Paris Saint-Germain are seemingly a club in crisis, even though they are currently on top of Ligue 1, as their results this season have been disappointing by their high standards, while rivals like Lens and Marseille are too close for comfort.

Fans have recently called for the board to resign, criticising the club’s management for a lack of a sporting vision and poor recruitment, including many over-rated talents and mercenaries. They say that too many players are only in Paris for the money.

For the supporters, the lack of respect for PSG was encapsulated by Lionel Messi’s unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia after an embarrassing home defeat to Lorient, which resulted in a two week suspension for the Argentine World Cup winner.

Expectations have been high ever since PSG were acquired in 2011 by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), a subsidiary of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), making the club by far the richest in France and one of the wealthiest in the world.

Since then, PSG have been imperious domestically, winning the league eight times in the last decade, though they have flattered to deceive in Europe. They have also struggled to comply with UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations. Indeed, many fans of other clubs don’t understand how their big spending can possibly be compliant.

So this review will look at PSG’s finances in detail, focusing on the 2021/22 accounts, which cover a season when they yet again won the league, but they were beaten by Nice in the Coupe de France quarter-finals and crashed out of the Champions League in the last 16, albeit eliminated by eventual winners Real Madrid.

Profit/(Loss) before Tax

PSG’s pre-tax loss increased by €150m from €225m to a club record €375m, despite revenue increasing by €100m (18%) from €570m to €670m and player sales generating a €32m profit compared to a €5m loss the prior year.

The significant worsening in the bottom line was due to operating expenses shooting up by an incredible €287m (36%), taking these to well over €1 bln.

Loss after tax widened from €224m to €369m.

The main driver of PSG’s steep revenue increase was commercial, which rose €106m (29%) from €367m to €473m, while gate receipts were up from just €1m to €57m following the return of fans to the stadium after COVID restrictions were lifted.

However, broadcasting fell €63m (31%) from €202m to €139m, partly due to a worse performance in the Champions League, and partly because the previous season included some revenue deferred from the extended 2019/20 season for games played after the club’s 30th June accounting close.

However, substantial investment in the squad, especially the club’s three superstars, meant that PSG’s wages shot up €226m (45%) from €503m to an astonishing €729m, the highest ever in the football world. There were also increases in player amortisation, up €5m (4%) from €142m to €147m, and agents fees, up €11m (39%) from €28m to €39m.