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Paris Saint-Germain’s 2024/25 accounts covered a season that the club not unreasonably described as “the most successful in our history”, as they won (deep breath) the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup, a 13th Ligue 1 title, a 16th Coupe de France and 13th Trophée des Champions.
The only trophy they missed out on was the FIFA Club World Cup, and even there they reached the final.
The seriously impressive success on the pitch was a vindication of the club’s decision to switch from its “Galacticos” model, following the departures of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé.
The lavish spending was backed by the owners, Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), a subsidiary of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), who acquired PSG in 2011, instantly making the club by far the richest in France and one of the wealthiest in the world.
For many years, QSI had followed a strategy of filling their team with expensive superstars, which delivered the domestic title season after season, but had not worked so well on the international stage.
As a result, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi announced, “We don’t want flashy, bling-bling anymore, it’s the end of the glitter.”
The focus therefore shifted towards younger, hungrier players, who were perfect for head coach Luis Enrique’s high energy tactics, such as Désiré Doué, Bradley Barcola, the Ballon d’Or Ousmane Dembélé and the incomparable Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Following many years of huge losses, the question is whether the sporting success has also fed into the club’s financial results, which we try to analyse by looking at the 2024/25 accounts.
Profit/(Loss) 2024/25
The club itself has no doubts, pointing to record revenue of €837m, up €29m (4%) from €808m, stating, “This performance shows the maturity of the project since the arrival of its main shareholder QSI, and confirms the solidity of the club’s economic model.”
Furthermore, PSG managed to reduce operating expenses by €92m (9%), while there was a €10m improvement in exceptional items.
However, despite all this good news, the fact remains that PSG still lost €40m before tax, largely because profit on player sales dropped €115m (63%) from €181m to €66m, though the net loss was smaller than the previous season’s €56m.
The improvement in the loss after tax was slightly better, as this went from €60m to €40m.
PSG’s sporting achievements “fueled exceptional momentum”, most notably in broadcasting, which rose €65m (37%) from €178m to €243m. In addition, gate receipts increased €5m (6%) from €73m to €78m, while sponsorship and advertising was up €6m (2%) from €381m to €387m.
However, other income dropped €47m (27%) from €176m to €129m, partly due to the third (and final) tranche of the Ligue 1 CVC private equity deal being smaller.
Following the departure of Mbappé, the wage bill significantly decreased, cut €124m (19%) from €659m to €535m, though player amortisation rose €28m (21%) from €132m to €160m. Agent fees were down by a third, falling €12m from €36m to €24m.
Other expenses increased €15m (7%) from €214m to €229m, as rising inflation took its toll.
Following last season’s improvement, PSG’s €40m pre-tax loss was no longer the worst in France, as four other clubs posted larger deficits, namely Lyon with an awful €209m, Marseille €103m, Strasbourg €78m and Nice €41m.