Ligue 1 pacesetters Paris Saint-Germain entertain mid-table Toulouse at the Parc des Princes on Friday night less than a day after the club unveiled a €300 million state-of-the-art training centre just outside Paris and top boss Nasser al-Khelaifi admitted the hunt was underway for a new home ground.
“I really like the Parc, everyone does," al-Khelaifi told French broadcaster RMC during a lavish gala for the inauguration of the PSG Campus in Poissy, 30km to the north-west of the Parc des Princes.
"If I listen to my heart, we’re not leaving the Parc," the 51-year-old added. "But all the big teams in Europe have stadiums with 80,000, 90,000 seats.
"We need that too, otherwise we’re dead.”
Time
The Parc des Princes, which is owned by Paris city council, was built in 1897 in the form of a velodrome and revamped in 1972.
The 48,000-seat capacity stadium has housed PSG since 1974 and also doubled up as the venue for France international rugby and football matches until the construction of the Stade de France for the 1998 football World Cup.
Since Qatar Sports Investment group bought PSG in 2011, it has spent billions of euros bringing in some of the best players and coaches to the club.
Fired by the talents of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani, Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi and Neymar, PSG has claimed 10 of the past 12 Ligue 1 championships. It has also won seven Coupe de France crowns and six Coupe de la Ligue titles over the same period.
But city councillors have refused to sell the venue, claiming the ground forms part of Paris's sporting and cultural heritage.
Sale
“A sale is not desirable, because that would be a decision with no turning back," said Pierre Rabadan, the deputy mayor for sports. "That’s why we have to rule out the sale of the park. We don’t want to sell off the city's legacy.”
PSG executives came under fire from diehard fans at the end of 2023 for considering a move to the 80-000 seat Stade de France. It is understood PSG executives are considering three sites, including one near the campus.
"The club needs to build a new stadium as quickly as possible,” al-Khelaifi added.
"We need a stadium ready in three to four years. We have no time to lose, otherwise we are behind other clubs in Europe."
However, for their 12th game of the 2024/25 season, PSG are six points ahead of second-placed Monaco, who play at Brest in Friday's early evening kick-off.
PSG face a resurgent Toulouse side who have shaken off a ragged start to the season to collect 10 from a possible 12 points.
Toulouse striker Joshua King, who has scored three times in the past four games, told the Ligue 1 website: "When you arrive at a new club, especially at the end of the transfer window, you need a bit of time to settle. That's normal and it's what I said a few days before scoring for the first time."
PSG boss Luis Enrique's search for a reliable marksman following the departure of Mbappé received a boost this week with the return to squad training of the Portugal striker Gonçalo Ramos who has been out with an ankle injury sustained in the opening game against Le Havre in August.
"He's doing very well already and is in the final phase of recovery." said Enrique. "He just needs to sharpen up so he can play in matches."
