Is this great for French football, or more specifically Ligue 1?
PSG are spending big, but they are the only ones in Ligue 1 spending heavily, and very little of that money is going to other Ligue 1 teams in terms of transfers, so they are not really benefiting from PSG’s huge spending.
This may be great for PSG, but I don’t see how it benefits the rest of Ligue 1.
It has the potential to be great for Ligue 1′s television revenue and sponsorship if it turns Paris into a footballing city. Paris is unique in Europe in that football isn’t that popular and many of the populace that is interestied in football are on the couch watching the premier league. This hurts the value of domestic television rights when the richest and most populace city in the country is not engaged. PSG becoming a superpower has the potential to get the 10 million parisians on the bandwagon. This will greatly increase the value of the Ligue 1 television contract and league wide sponsorship that will benefit all of the other clubs.
I suppose I just worry that, even if the other Ligue 1 clubs got a cash injection from TV rights etc. they still would not be able to match the spending power of PSG. That would take a league that has relatively recently broken the Lyon hold on the title and give a similar (perhaps even greater) stranglehold on the Ligue 1 title to PSG.
Who wins the Ligue 1 title every year may be unimportant to this argument, but Ligue 1 had become a fairly enjoyable league from a competitive stand point.
I don’t see PSG becoming a Champions League threat just yet. If the rest of the competition in Ligue 1 gives them a challenge week in week out, then maybe they will be sharp enough to challenge the big boys in Europe. I have visions of them cruising domestically next year but lacking that edge which is needed to compete in the Champions League. An infrequent challenge from Marseille, Lyon, and Lille is not going to prepare them for Barcelona, Real, Man U, Bayern etc. They will probably have to experience some Champions League growing pains, similar to those of Manchester City.
Is this great for French football, or more specifically Ligue 1?
PSG are spending big, but they are the only ones in Ligue 1 spending heavily, and very little of that money is going to other Ligue 1 teams in terms of transfers, so they are not really benefiting from PSG’s huge spending.
This may be great for PSG, but I don’t see how it benefits the rest of Ligue 1.
Macht,
It has the potential to be great for Ligue 1′s television revenue and sponsorship if it turns Paris into a footballing city. Paris is unique in Europe in that football isn’t that popular and many of the populace that is interestied in football are on the couch watching the premier league. This hurts the value of domestic television rights when the richest and most populace city in the country is not engaged. PSG becoming a superpower has the potential to get the 10 million parisians on the bandwagon. This will greatly increase the value of the Ligue 1 television contract and league wide sponsorship that will benefit all of the other clubs.
I suppose I just worry that, even if the other Ligue 1 clubs got a cash injection from TV rights etc. they still would not be able to match the spending power of PSG. That would take a league that has relatively recently broken the Lyon hold on the title and give a similar (perhaps even greater) stranglehold on the Ligue 1 title to PSG.
Who wins the Ligue 1 title every year may be unimportant to this argument, but Ligue 1 had become a fairly enjoyable league from a competitive stand point.
I don’t see PSG becoming a Champions League threat just yet. If the rest of the competition in Ligue 1 gives them a challenge week in week out, then maybe they will be sharp enough to challenge the big boys in Europe. I have visions of them cruising domestically next year but lacking that edge which is needed to compete in the Champions League. An infrequent challenge from Marseille, Lyon, and Lille is not going to prepare them for Barcelona, Real, Man U, Bayern etc. They will probably have to experience some Champions League growing pains, similar to those of Manchester City.
Cheers!
They’re likely going to be seeded in the bottom pot for the Champions League draw so it will be extremely tough regardless.