How much money did the prince of Qatar put in to stay with Lionel Messi and form the Dream Team?

Paris Saint Germain is owned by Qatar Sports Investment (QSi), a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority, a sovereign investment fund whose CEO is Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Zani. 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.

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 Paris Saint Germain. 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.

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 media coverage until Messi was that of the Brazilian Neymar, for whom 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.