According to reports in Foot Mercato, Paris Saint-Germain Ultras are worried for their future after club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi announced plans to leave the Parc des Princes stadium following the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, once again declaring that the site was not for sale.
As reported in GFFN, Hidalgo wrote in the French newspaper Ouest France reaffirming that the iconic stadium would not be sold:
“I’ll repeat it: we are ready to study and assist in the transformation of the Parc. I’ll also say this again today, and in good faith to everyone: there will be no sale of the Parc des Princes. It is the heritage of the Parisian people. The subject is closed,”
Speaking in Paris at the UEFA Congress Assembly as a member of the UEFA Executive committee, Al-Khelaifi responded:
“It’s too easy to say that the stadium isn’t for sale. We know what we want, we wasted several years wanting to buy Le Parc. It’s over now, we want to move “
As stated in Le Mercato, it’s difficult to know at this stage whether this is announcement is sincere from the president, but there are numerous examples across Europe of teams such as Bayern Munich and Juventus moving into new, out-of-town stadiums.
One thing is for sure is that the protracted move has not gone down well with the Parisian Ultras. According to RMC Sport, the Virage Auteuil, the most vociferous supporters section, has expressed concern over a number of the months regarding the proposed move, the members of the Collectif Ultras Paris think of the Parc des Princes is a part of their identity.
It could be a part of their identity soon to be lost.
GFFN | Jack McArdle
