A 2 billion euro gamble is "cashed"! "Paris Grande" swept Inter Milan 5-0 and won the Champions League for the first time. Why is Middle East Oil Capital keen on investing in footb

reporter of Meike | Cai Ding Meike | editor of Meike | Jin Mingyu Lansuying

In the early morning of June 1, the final of the 2024/2025 European Football Champions League ended. French Ligue 1 overlord Paris Saint-Germain (hereinafter referred to as "Paris Grande") defeated Serie A giants Inter Milan 5-0, winning the Champions League for the first time in the history of the team and becoming the 24th Champions League champion since the reform of the Champions League.

For the "financial owner" Carta Sports Investment (hereinafter referred to as "QSI"), this is undoubtedly a refreshing victory.

Since taking over Paris Grande in 2011, QSI has been keen on the ambition to build this French Ligue 1 team into a European football giant. According to the Daily Telegraph, over the past 14 years, QSI has spent a lot of money in the transfer market, spending more than 2 billion euros in player transfers. A number of football superstars such as Neymar, Messi, and Mbappe have successively put on the Paris jerseys, which has increased the team's global attention and competitive strength.

With the victory of Paris Saint-Germain, the football strategic layout of Middle East Capital was also pushed into the spotlight. In addition to Qatar, Middle Eastern capital such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE are also driving a "football revolution" that transcends the scope of competition.

Wu Xuesong, former manager of the Dutch Eredivisie Theater Football Club and former CEO of Heli Wansheng International Sports Development Co., Ltd., pointed out in an interview with the reporter of the "Daily Economic News" (hereinafter referred to as "Meijing Reporter"), "Several core oil countries in the Middle East are taking the sports industry as the core tool for national transformation. Two particularly representative countries are Saudi Arabia and Qatar. They both regard the sports industry, especially football, as an important means to shift from a resource-based country to a diversified service economy."

The huge investment in Middle East capital has also created a significant impact on the economic level. According to the Football Business Journal report, in the 2023/2024 season alone, Paris Saint-Germain contributed 243 million euros to Paris' economy, supported about 2,370 local jobs, and contributed 371 million euros in public fiscal revenue. The rise of the 2 billion euro "money" capacity behind the top of "Paris Greater" is inseparable from the strong support of QSI, the "money owner" behind it. In 2011, QSI invested 50 million euros to purchase 70% of the shares of Paris Grande, becoming the club's largest shareholder, and achieved full control of it the following year.

Since then, the Qatar consortium has started a transformation plan for "Paris Grande": by introducing top stars and coaches, the team's competitive strength and international popularity will be quickly enhanced. After the Qatar consortium took over, "Paris Greater" spent money on the transfer market and became a "big buyer" in the football transfer market. According to the Daily Telegraph, QSI has spent more than 2 billion euros in player transfers over 14 years.

With the huge investment of the Qatar consortium, "Paris Greater" has continuously introduced world-class stars, and a number of superstars such as Neymar, Messi, and Mbappe have successively put on the "Paris Greater" jerseys. The joining of these stars has greatly enhanced the team's strength and influence, making "Paris Grande" a force that cannot be ignored in European football.

This time, Paris Saint-Germain won the first Champions League championship in the team's history will also bring considerable returns to QSI. According to previous statistics from the "Team News", if Paris Saint-Germain wins the championship against Inter Milan, it will not only receive a record bonus from UEFA, but also increase revenue with the agreement of French media broadcaster Canal+, and the total ticketing revenue will exceed 200 million euros.

QSI's investment is just a microcosm of the Middle East's capital's layout in the football field.

In addition to the acquisition of Paris Saint-Germain, QSI is also exploring multi-club ownership models, such as holding part of the equity of the Portuguese Club Braga (SCBraga) (currently 21.67%), and it is reported that QSI is considering acquiring Spanish club Malaga and exploring Belgian club projects.

If you want to talk about Middle Eastern capital's interest in European football, it can be traced back to the acquisition of Manchester City by Abu Dhabi United Development Investment Group in 2008. Under the helm of the UAE Sheikh Mansour, Manchester City has jumped from a mid-range Premier League team to one of the dominant forces in European football. Not only have they won the Premier League championship many times, but they have also won the Champions League historic crown in the 2022/2023 season.

Manchester City's successful model provides a sample for subsequent Middle East capital operations. Its parent company, Urban Football Group, has now built a network of football clubs all over the world, showing a systematic thinking of operating the football industry.

In 2021, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (hereinafter referred to as "PIF") led the acquisition of the old Premier League club Newcastle United, and quickly improved the team's competitiveness through a large amount of capital injection in the short term. According to German transfer market data, Newcastle has spent more than $500 million on player introduction since the acquisition.

In Saudi Arabia, PIF also has many layouts: In 2023, PIF announced the acquisition of 75% of the shares of four top clubs under the Saudi Professional League - Riyadh Crescent, Riyadh Victory, Jeddah United and Jeddah National.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia's investment in its own league is unprecedented. PIF's control over the "Four Major Clubs" and the joining of a series of world-class stars have quickly enhanced the international popularity and viewing of the Saudi Professional Football League. In the 2023/2024 season, the Saudi Professional Football League's revenue is expected to reach US$800 million, and both broadcast and sponsorship revenues have achieved significant growth. Saudi Arabia's goal is to build the Saudi professional football league into one of the top ten leagues in the world and attract more top players and coaches. To this end, Saudi Arabia has also formulated long-term plans in the areas of league infrastructure construction, youth training system development, and global league promotion.. For example, collaborations with technology companies such as Globant aim to use technologies such as artificial intelligence to improve fan experience and league operation efficiency.

Why are the Middle East countries so passionate about investing in football?

Wu Xuesong told the reporter of Meike, "A major background is that several core oil countries in the Middle East are taking the sports industry as the core tool for national transformation. Among them, two particularly representative countries are Saudi Arabia and Qatar. They both regard the sports industry, especially football, as an important means to shift from resource-based countries to diversified service-oriented economies."

Taking the 2022 Qatar World Cup as an example, Wu Xuesong pointed out that although the cost of the Qatar World Cup is as high as US$220 billion, it can enhance the country's influence and accelerate transformation.

Saudi Arabia also regards football as an important tool for achieving social transformation and economic diversification. Wu Xuesong told reporters from the China Business News that football is an important part of Saudi Arabia's "Vision 2030". He explained that the leads of the four teams in the head of Saudi Arabia's "Golden Dollar League" are all determined by PIF and are not the club's behavior.

According to Xinhua News Agency, in 2023, Saudi Arabia won the right to host the 2027 Asian Cup football match. At the end of 2024, Saudi Arabia also won the right to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup. By hosting international football events, Saudi Arabia hopes to enhance the country's image, attract investment, and promote the development of the sports industry.

"The sports strategy of Middle Eastern countries is to turn some top clubs into national strategic assets through the strategy of sports nationalization, which represents part of the national strategy." Wu Xuesong told a reporter from the Economic News Agency. Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia have long relied on the oil industry. With the adjustment of the global energy structure and market changes, economic diversification has become an inevitable choice.

Wu Xuesong further pointed out that it is worth paying attention to when Middle Eastern capital's intervention in European football. In addition to their identity as investors, they will also participate in matters including football club operations. "From my previous experience in The Hague, Netherlands, investors will regard setting agendas as the most important right in the game. Gulf countries are also seeking the right to formulate agendas at the negotiating table. Middle East Capital currently hopes to have its own voice in strategy formulation, influence dissemination, etc.."

Football is becoming a new driving force for the Middle East economy

Middle Eastern Capital's huge investment in the football field has also produced considerable economic and social impact.

Take the 2022 Qatar World Cup as an example. According to a report released by the Qatar Association of Industry and Commerce, the direct economic income brought to Qatar by the 2022 Qatar World Cup is about 8 billion Qatar Riyals, or about 2.2 billion US dollars. The above report also pointed out that benefiting from the brand effect of the World Cup, the long-term economic income from 2023 to 2035 reached 9.9 billion riyals, or approximately US$2.7 billion.

In addition, the past success of "Paris Greater" has also driven global cooperation among affiliated companies such as Qatar Airways and Telecommunications. For example, in 2022, Paris Saint-Germain reached a sponsorship contract of 70 million euros with Qatar Airways, which not only increased brand exposure, but also promoted the growth of the aviation business. In 2025, Qatar's tourism industry is expected to attract 4.9 million tourists, and air demand surged, driving the country's planned new routes and flights.

According to Bloomberg, the Saudi Professional Football League has attracted broadcasters from more than 50 countries in a short period of time through the joining of stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Benzema, and its broadcast revenue exceeded 200 million euros. In 2025, the league's live audience exceeded 2.5 million, and Jeddah United became the most popular audience with 594,000 viewers. Although the traffic dividends in the early stages of Ronaldo's joining declined, Riyadh victory still ranked fourth with 277,000 viewers. This popularity is directly transformed into tourism data: in 2023, Saudi Arabia received 27 million international tourists, of which 3 million were related to sports events.

According to a report released by SURJ Sports Investment Company, the market value of the Saudi sports industry is expected to rise from US$8 billion ($8 billion) to US$22.4 billion by 2030. Saudi Arabia plans to create a large number of jobs through the sports industry by 2030 and increase the proportion of the sports industry in the national economy.

Investment in Middle Eastern countries has also helped the economy of investment destinations.

For example, "Paris Greater" brings considerable economic benefits and international exposure to Paris. According to the Football Business Journal report, in the 2023/2024 season alone, Paris Saint-Germain contributed 243 million euros to the local economy, supported about 2,370 local jobs, and contributed 371 million euros in public fiscal revenue.

Manchester City's investment in the East Manchester area, which includes not only sports facilities but also to real estate and community development, has significantly changed the face of the area. After Newcastle was acquired, the local real estate market and business confidence were also boosted. The club has also established many cooperative relationships with local companies, striving to integrate and drive regional development.

(Disclaimer: The content and data of this article are for reference only and do not constitute investment advice. Please verify before use. Operations based on this are at your own risk.)

Reporter | Cai Ding

Editor | Jin Mingyu Lansu Yinggaiyuanyuan