Paris Saint-Germain have officially announced their sponsorship deal with the Qatar Tourism Authority which will net the Ligue 1 champions up to 200 million euros a year.
Mooted last season, the agreement was publicly confirmed on Tuesday making PSG the first club to be sponsored by a state.
Income from the deal, which will reportedly be retroactively paid back to 2012, is said to increase incrementally year-on-year through to a reported maximum of 200 million euros come 2016.
"Our association with the Qatar Tourism Authority allows us to give ourselves the means necessary for the development of the club in the direction that we envisage," PSG's CEO Jean-Claude Blanc said.
It clearly benefits the image, as well as the results, of the club. QTA's support enables us to offer our supporters a level of performance in keeping with their expectations and our ambitions."
The sum will significantly help offset PSG's annual budget, which this year totals 430 million euros, though the club will also have to provide details of the agreement to UEFA before European football's governing body takes it into account with regard to the club's obligations to meet Financial Fair Play regulations.
As part of the agreement, Laurent Blanc's squad will be able to use Qatar's high-performance ASPIRE centre for this year's winter training camp, the third successive year the French club will have travelled to the Gulf state during their winter break, to prepare for a high-profile friendly with Real Madrid in Doha on Jan. 2, which will launch the second half of their season.
RPV:
A Grosso modo: el PSG será el primer equipo en ser patrocinado por un país. Este dinero está destinado a cumplir el fair play financiero del equipo parisino y así poder conservar altos salarios y alto gasto en fichajes aún cuando el reparto televisivo de la liga francesa es muy bajo, aparte de que el acuerdo es retroactivo, pagarán incluso por patrocinio del año 2012
Let the rage begin!
