Arteta: 'Arsenal must learn a lot to win the league next season'
Martinelli on the UCL title: 'We have this dream and the club deserves it'
Gabriel Martinelli believes Arsenal are ready to win the Champions League ahead of their semi-final clash with PSG.
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Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Champions League final highlights Al-Khelaïfi ties to PSG, UEFA, beIN and Qatar
FILE -Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Paris Saint Germain's President Nasser al-Khelaifi attend the League One soccer match between Paris Saint Germain and Nice, at Parc des Princes stadium, Nov. 29, 2014. (AP Photo/Francois Mori), File) FILE -President of French club Paris Saint-Germain Nasser Al-Khelaifi walks on the podium at the 49th ordinary UEFA congress, in Belgrade, Serbia, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File) FILE -PSG striker Kylian Mbappe shows his jersey with PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi during a press conference,May 23, 2022 at the Paris des Princes stadium in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler, File) FILE -PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi, celebrates after the Champions League semifinal, second leg soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal at the Parc des Princes in Paris, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File) FILE -PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi, celebrates after the Champions League semifinal, second leg soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal at the Parc des Princes in Paris, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File) FILE -Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Paris Saint Germain's President Nasser al-Khelaifi attend the League One soccer match between Paris Saint Germain and Nice, at Parc des Princes stadium, Nov. 29, 2014. (AP Photo/Francois Mori), File) FILE -President of French club Paris Saint-Germain Nasser Al-Khelaifi walks on the podium at the 49th ordinary UEFA congress, in Belgrade, Serbia, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File) FILE -PSG striker Kylian Mbappe shows his jersey with PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi during a press conference,May 23, 2022 at the Paris des Princes stadium in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler, File) FILE -PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi, celebrates after the Champions League semifinal, second leg soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal at the Parc des Princes in Paris, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File) The Champions League final on Saturday will be an especially busy one for Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, perhaps the most multi-tasked official in world soccer. As president of Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain since 2011, Al-Khelaïfi's main goal is seeing his team become champion of Europe for the first time against Inter Milan in Munich. Advertisement As chairman of the influential European Club Association, he leads 700 member teams increasingly taking over from UEFA in shaping sporting and commercial decisions for the Champions League. It also puts him on UEFA's strategy-setting executive committee. As chairman of Qatari broadcaster beIN Media Group, Al-Khelaïfi controls exclusive Champions League rights to air the final in the Middle East, North Africa and much of South-East Asia. 'Nasser Al-Khelaïfi is considered a visionary leader in the media industry,' beIN says on its website, adding that in 2016 he 'also acquired the Hollywood film studio Miramax.' He also is a minister in Qatar's government, a director of its sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and chairman of Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) that owns PSG. Advertisement QSI and Al-Khelaïfi — a former tennis professional — also are key in the fast-emerging racket sport padel which has ambitions to be an Olympic sport, maybe in time for the 2036 Summer Games that Qatar and its tennis-loving Emir want to host. Among the invited VIP guests in Munich is Thomas Bach, the outgoing though still influential president of the International Olympic Committee. Saturday can be a peak of Al-Khelaïfi's 14-year career in international soccer that has fueled talk — despite ongoing investigations of his sports career by French authorities — he could be a future FIFA president. Al-Khelaïfi declined comment to The Associated Press after a recent UEFA meeting in Bilbao, Spain. Advertisement In a statement, PSG said he 'doesn't want to be a distraction and wants humble focus for the team.' From tennis to soccer Now aged 51, Al-Khelaïfi was a tennis pro who played for Qatar in the Davis Cup, bringing him into contact with the future Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Al-Khelaïfi's ATP biography shows his ranking peaked at No. 995 and he played two matches on tour. The first in 1996 was against world No. 2 Thomas Muster in Austria. Brief footage shows a good-natured exchange of shots with Muster in a 6-0, 6-1 mismatch. Al-Khelaïfi's career ended in 2003 and he joined the start-up Al Jazeera Sport as 'Director of Rights Acquisitions,' according to beIN. Advertisement Qatar stunned soccer in 2010, when FIFA awarded it 2022 World Cup hosting rights, and PSG was bought within months. Rising in soccer The rise of ambitious clubs fueled by Middle East sovereign cash — Qatar and PSG, Abu Dhabi and Manchester City — concerned the storied elite. The ECA helped UEFA introduce financial control rules for European competitions that saw both clubs deducted 20 million euros ($22.7 million) of Champions League prize money in 2014. Still, while Man City did not get on the ECA board, Al-Khelaïfi was elected in 2016. Three years later he got one of two seats reserved for clubs on the UEFA executive committee (ExCo) — despite in-house cautioning about conflicts of interest. Advertisement Conflicted interests? On election day in 2019 in Rome, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin was asked about potential conflicts of interest around Al-Khelaïfi. BeIN was, and still is, among UEFA's main clients also owning extensive European Championship rights. Ceferin's narrowly focused answer was that ExCo members are not involved in approving commercial deals. Any conflict worked in UEFA's favor in 2021 when ECA leaders launched the Super League project designed to rival and replace the Champions League, which beIN broadcasts. PSG's refusal to join rebel clubs from Spain, Italy and England helped to undermine the breakaway that ultimately failed amid a fan backlash and British government threats of legislation. Advertisement In the fallout, Al-Khelaïfi took over leading the ECA and quickly repaired relations with UEFA and Ceferin. One year later, UEFA opened a disciplinary case into claims the PSG president confronted the match referee after losing in the Champions League at Real Madrid. When UEFA published the verdict Al-Khelaïfi was no longer cited and blame was put on sporting director Leonardo, who PSG had fired weeks earlier. Challenges in France Al-Khelaïfi is not always popular in France where PSG has won 11 of 14 league titles during Qatari ownership. His powerful role has attracted criticism, particularly from John Textor, the American owner at Lyon, including that PSG's funding model involving Qatari money allegedly breaks European Union laws. Advertisement The pair have argued about poor management of the league's TV rights. In leaked footage from a 2024 meeting of Ligue 1 club owners, Al-Khelaïfi called Textor a cowboy. Textor described his rival as a bully with a conflict of interest given his role at beIN. Al-Khelaïfi's legal challenges in France include some not related to PSG. The recent preliminary charges about possible alleged corruption relate to his links to a French businessman. Proceedings were dropped in relation to Qatari bids to host track and field's world championships, which Doha staged in 2019. In Switzerland, Al-Khelaïfi stood trial twice and was acquitted both times on charges of inciting a top FIFA official to commit aggravated criminal mismanagement from 2013-15. Advertisement His lawyers said after the second acquittal in 2022 that "years of baseless allegations, fictitious charges and constant smears have been proven to be completely and wholly unsubstantiated — twice.' ___ AP Sports Writer Tales Azzoni contributed from Bilbao, Spain ___ AP soccer:
Associated Press
41 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Champions League final highlights Al-Khelaïfi ties to PSG, UEFA, beIN and Qatar
The Champions League final on Saturday will be an especially busy one for Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, perhaps the most multi-tasked official in world soccer. As president of Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain since 2011, Al-Khelaïfi's main goal is seeing his team become champion of Europe for the first time against Inter Milan in Munich. As chairman of the influential European Club Association, he leads 700 member teams increasingly taking over from UEFA in shaping sporting and commercial decisions for the Champions League. It also puts him on UEFA's strategy-setting executive committee. As chairman of Qatari broadcaster beIN Media Group, Al-Khelaïfi controls exclusive Champions League rights to air the final in the Middle East, North Africa and much of South-East Asia. 'Nasser Al-Khelaïfi is considered a visionary leader in the media industry,' beIN says on its website, adding that in 2016 he 'also acquired the Hollywood film studio Miramax.' He also is a minister in Qatar's government, a director of its sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and chairman of Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) that owns PSG. QSI and Al-Khelaïfi — a former tennis professional — also are key in the fast-emerging racket sport padel which has ambitions to be an Olympic sport, maybe in time for the 2036 Summer Games that Qatar and its tennis-loving Emir want to host. Among the invited VIP guests in Munich is Thomas Bach, the outgoing though still influential president of the International Olympic Committee. Saturday can be a peak of Al-Khelaïfi's 14-year career in international soccer that has fueled talk — despite ongoing investigations of his sports career by French authorities — he could be a future FIFA president. Al-Khelaïfi declined comment to The Associated Press after a recent UEFA meeting in Bilbao, Spain. In a statement, PSG said he 'doesn't want to be a distraction and wants humble focus for the team.' From tennis to soccer Now aged 51, Al-Khelaïfi was a tennis pro who played for Qatar in the Davis Cup, bringing him into contact with the future Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Al-Khelaïfi's ATP biography shows his ranking peaked at No. 995 and he played two matches on tour. The first in 1996 was against world No. 2 Thomas Muster in Austria. Brief footage shows a good-natured exchange of shots with Muster in a 6-0, 6-1 mismatch. Al-Khelaïfi's career ended in 2003 and he joined the start-up Al Jazeera Sport as 'Director of Rights Acquisitions,' according to beIN. Qatar stunned soccer in 2010, when FIFA awarded it 2022 World Cup hosting rights, and PSG was bought within months. Rising in soccer The rise of ambitious clubs fueled by Middle East sovereign cash — Qatar and PSG, Abu Dhabi and Manchester City — concerned the storied elite. The ECA helped UEFA introduce financial control rules for European competitions that saw both clubs deducted 20 million euros ($22.7 million) of Champions League prize money in 2014. Still, while Man City did not get on the ECA board, Al-Khelaïfi was elected in 2016. Three years later he got one of two seats reserved for clubs on the UEFA executive committee (ExCo) — despite in-house cautioning about conflicts of interest. Conflicted interests? On election day in 2019 in Rome, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin was asked about potential conflicts of interest around Al-Khelaïfi. BeIN was, and still is, among UEFA's main clients also owning extensive European Championship rights. Ceferin's narrowly focused answer was that ExCo members are not involved in approving commercial deals. Any conflict worked in UEFA's favor in 2021 when ECA leaders launched the Super League project designed to rival and replace the Champions League, which beIN broadcasts. PSG's refusal to join rebel clubs from Spain, Italy and England helped to undermine the breakaway that ultimately failed amid a fan backlash and British government threats of legislation. In the fallout, Al-Khelaïfi took over leading the ECA and quickly repaired relations with UEFA and Ceferin. One year later, UEFA opened a disciplinary case into claims the PSG president confronted the match referee after losing in the Champions League at Real Madrid. When UEFA published the verdict Al-Khelaïfi was no longer cited and blame was put on sporting director Leonardo, who PSG had fired weeks earlier. Challenges in France Al-Khelaïfi is not always popular in France where PSG has won 11 of 14 league titles during Qatari ownership. His powerful role has attracted criticism, particularly from John Textor, the American owner at Lyon, including that PSG's funding model involving Qatari money allegedly breaks European Union laws. The pair have argued about poor management of the league's TV rights. In leaked footage from a 2024 meeting of Ligue 1 club owners, Al-Khelaïfi called Textor a cowboy. Textor described his rival as a bully with a conflict of interest given his role at beIN. Al-Khelaïfi's legal challenges in France include some not related to PSG. The recent preliminary charges about possible alleged corruption relate to his links to a French businessman. Proceedings were dropped in relation to Qatari bids to host track and field's world championships, which Doha staged in 2019. In Switzerland, Al-Khelaïfi stood trial twice and was acquitted both times on charges of inciting a top FIFA official to commit aggravated criminal mismanagement from 2013-15. His lawyers said after the second acquittal in 2022 that 'years of baseless allegations, fictitious charges and constant smears have been proven to be completely and wholly unsubstantiated — twice.' ___ AP Sports Writer Tales Azzoni contributed from Bilbao, Spain ___ AP soccer:
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Man City chief urges club to stay patient over charges decision
Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said his club are being "patient" as they wait for the verdict on charges of alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules. City were referred to an independent commission in February 2023 over the charges, which the club strongly deny. Advertisement The case was heard between September and December last year but no decision has yet been announced. City could face a points deduction, a heavy fine or even relegation from the Premier League if they are found guilty. "Well, I suppose the only thing I can say is we still don't have a ruling," Khaldoon said this week. "Once there's a ruling, I'll be able to speak about it. Until then we just have to be patient, and it'll come, and we will talk about it, I promise you, once we have the ruling." The investigation, which resulted in more than 100 charges being made against City, started back in 2018. Advertisement City were charged with failing to report accurate financial information for nine seasons stretching from 2009-10 to 2017-18, as well as failing to provide full details of former manager Roberto Mancini's pay between 2009-10 and 2012-13. They are also charged with failing to provide full details of remuneration in contracts with players between 2010-11 and 2015-16, and with failing to co-operate with the investigation over a period from 2018 to 2023. The club said at the time the charges were laid that they welcomed the opportunity for a commission "to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of our position". City won the Champions League at the end of the season the charges were laid, securing themselves a place in FIFA's expanded 32-team Club World Cup which starts next month. Advertisement World players' union FIFPRO has criticised the scheduling of the competition amid player welfare concerns and, along with Europe's domestic leagues organisation, has filed legal complaints against FIFA over a lack of consultation around the international match calendar. Despite that, Khaldoon insists the club are taking the competition seriously and treating it as the official start of next season rather than an extension of the current one. "This is a very, very serious competition. In the summer, the whole world will be watching this," he said. "A big number of the top teams in the world will be competing in this tournament and I can assure you, we're going to give it our best shot." smg/bsp
