- Jose Carlos Cueto
- BBC News World
Image source, Aurelien Meunier – PSG
Messi and the president of PSG, Nasser Al Khelaifi.
Less than a week ago almost everyone took it for granted that Lionel Messi would continue at Barcelona. Today he is a new player for PSG (Paris Saint-Germain).
Signing Messi is an undoubted sporting addition for PSG, which already had a fearsome team with stars like Neymar, Kylian Mbappé, Angel Say Maria, Sergio Ramos or the newly signed goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who won the Eurocup a month ago with Italy.
On paper, there is no squad in Europe that can emulate this potential right now.
But Messi’s arrival in Paris goes far beyond sports.
Experts argue that this signing, perhaps the most important and mediatic in the modern history of this sport, is framed within a political and image strategy for Qatar.
PSG is owned by Qatar Sports Investment (QSi), a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority, a sovereign investment fund whose executive director is the Qatari emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Zani.
Image source, Getty Images
Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Emir of Qatar.
Critics denounce that PSG is a club-state backed by Qatar’s oil wealth.
And various organizations accuse this country of hiding behind large sports investments, such as hosting the next Soccer World Cup in 2022, its practices against human rights.
But how does the signing of Messi fit into the image of the small country?
An “almost inevitable” signing
After confirming that Messi would not continue in Barcelona, it seemed clear that his next destination would be Manchester City or PSG.
The rumors not only attended to the overwhelming economic power of both teams, but also to business logic that in the case of PSG helped tip the balance.
“If you look at the connections in recent years between Qatar, Barcelona, Paris and Messi, this signing was almost inevitable. Only that the Qataris did not finish believing that it would finally materialize,” he tells BBC Mundo Simon Chadwick, Professor of Economic Geopolitics of Sport at the EM Lyon Business School in France.
PSG has allocated billions in transfers in recent years with the clear objective of winning the Champions League, the tournament with the most pedigree in Europe. So far without success. The closest it got was the final they lost in 2020 to Bayern Munich.
The most mediatic until Messi was that of the Brazilian Neymar, for which the Parisian club paid 220 million euros (US $ 257 million) to Barcelona in 2017. There has been no more expensive transfer in the history of football.
Image source, Getty Images
Messi will be reunited with his friend and former teammate Neymar to form one of the most fearsome strikers in European football.
Winning the Champions League has become an obsession for PSG.
“Qatar wants PSG to win the Champions League next year. If they win in May (2022), in November Qatar will host the World Cup. The national brand, the ‘soft power‘ and reputational benefits are part of Qatar’s strategy“says Chadwick.
The “sportswashing” strategy
Various human rights organizations, such as Human Rights Watch, denounce the exploitation of migrant workers in the country, which has been crucial to build the modern stadiums for the 2022 World Cup, as well as laws that “continue to discriminate against women, lesbians, homosexuals, bisexuals and transgender individuals.”
Last March, International Amnesty wrote a letter to the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) asking to “adopt concrete and urgent measures to ensure that the competition leaves a positive legacy and lasting to all Qatari migrant workers and does not lead to further labor abuses. “
In addition to these allegations, there are also allegations of bribery to win votes by Qatari representatives to FIFA members.
Image source, Getty Images
Faced with these complaints, critics accuse Qatar of trying clean up its international image through a strategy known as “sportswashing“, a compound word that involves, translated into Spanish, “sport” and “washing” image.
“Instead of talking about migration, working conditions and the way Qatar treats its LGTBQ community, we are talking about Lionel Messi, PSG and football. An interpretation of ‘sportswashing’ would be a strategy to distract people and not talk about more important things, “clarifies Professor Chadwick.
Image source, Getty Images
Complaints about working conditions have been in the spotlight since it was confirmed that Qatar would host the Soccer World Cup in 2022.
In 2017, the Qatari authorities approved new laws to improve workers’ rights after reaching an agreement with the United Nations International Labor Organization.
Although then, a government statement explained that these reforms “would take time, resources and commitments.”
Institutional promotion of the club-State
For Chadwick there are no doubts: PSG is a state club and “not even the Qataris deny it.”
“The ownership of the club in the hands of QSi is effectively associated with the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar. The Chairman of QSi, Nasser al Khelaifi, is a member of the Qatari royal family and also chairs the PSG “.
“Qatar is not a democracy. The royal family is the government. There is no discussion: the state of Qatar owns PSG“, adds the expert.
The emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Zani He is not only the head of state, but he shares executive power with the Council of Ministers that he himself appoints at the proposal of the prime minister.
Something similar happens with the English Manchester City, owned by the private equity company Abu Dhabi United Group, belonging to the Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahayan, of the royal family of the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
Both teams have starred in the transfer markets in recent years, pay high salaries and have earned several complaints for supposedly not respecting the rules of financial fair play, which plans to limit expenses.
Since QSi took full ownership of PSG in 2012, the club has not only invested millions of dollars, but has also seen its institutional position escalate within European football.
In 2019, Nasser al Khelaifi He was elected by the European Clubs Association (ECA) as a delegate to the executive committee of the European Union of Football Associations (UEFA), the governing body of continental football.
Image source, Getty Images
Two years later, in 2021, Al Khelaifi became president of the ECA after the controversial European Super League project threatened the current structures of football as we know them.
Qatar 2030
On whether Qatar’s strategy to clean up its international image is working or not, Chadwick, English, gives the example of the English Premier League.
“Everywhere I go in the world, people talk about the Premier, but no one tells me about British colonial history And the bad things we did all over the world Can we say that this is the first case of ‘sportswashing’ in history and that Qatar is doing the same? “The expert wonders.
“People are seduced, but it is important not to forget that sport is only one aspect of life. Likewise, Messi, the World Cup and others, in Qatar and any country, help bring about positive effects and changes“, he opines.
The Gulf country is developing a project called Qatar National Vision 2030. It aims to become “an advanced society capable of sustaining its development and providing a high standard of living for its people.”
Image source, Getty Images
Messi will play for two seasons at PSG after 21 years in Barcelona.
To do this, it is clear that he has chosen sport as an important basis for his image enhancement strategy.
“What people in Europe see as ‘sportswashing’, in Qatar they see as part of their growth strategy,” says Chadwick.
With the arrival of Messi in Paris, PSG and Qatar already have the attention of the whole planet.
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