Credit: Flickr user DohaStadiumPlusQatar
With French Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint Germaing facing potentially severe fines and wage caps from UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules, the rumors and speculation have begun swirling as to what the club will do next. UEFA has determined that their sponsorship deals have been valued at double their fair price and that the debts PSG has incurred have been fully addressed. If this is indeed the case for the sponsorship deals, then PSG will have a mighty big hole to dig themselves out of before they can be financially compliant with FFP. So what does a person, or a club, do when they are forced to get themselves out of debt? They sell their most valuable assets to cover those losses and that brings us to our point.
If PSG are indeed forced to sell some of their biggest stars including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Javier Pastore, or Thiago Silva, the most reasonable thing to do would be to sell the player with the shortest possible future at the club. Ibrahimovic is on the wrong side of 30 as far as football is concerned but is still one of the most feared strikers in the world. Realistically how can long can he perform at this phenomenal level? Another two years, maybe three? Players like Cavani, Lavezzi, and Pastore are all world class attackers and are all relatively young. They can be faithful servants to the club for another five or so years before they see any drop off in their game.
Selling Ibrahimovic would also appease Edinson Cavani who has reportedly been complaining about having to play out wide to accommodate Ibrahimovic at center forward. While his valuation may not be as high as it was two years ago, getting Ibrahimovic’s wages off the bill will make a big impact towards FFP compliance. The question remains whether anyone else can afford the Swedish striker but Chelsea FC can become a viable candidate if Fernando Torres moves on in the summer. Whether Ibrahimovic would fit in at Chelsea or if he is even wanted there but PSG would be smart to sell to the Blues as it would help both parties and most importantly for the French club, help get them out from under the boot of UEFA’s financial regulations.
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