PSG Hoping to Send Fans Asleep

Paris, Feb 23 (AFP) Paris Saint Germain admitted Friday they would be happy to send fans asleep after their dominance of the French Ligue 1 title chase was reflected in a new multi-million euro sponsorship deal with a hotel giant.

The French champions, who enjoy a 14-point lead at the top of the table and are well placed to reach the Champions League quarter-finals, agreed a new shirt sponsorship deal with the French multinational Accor.

PSG president Nasser Al-Khela?fi admitted that the deal could even see fans get the opportunity to stay overnight at the club's Parc des Princes ground in the French capital.

"We can imagine that," Al-Khelaifi told AFP when asked if he could see the agreement stretching to hotel breaks at the stadium.

"Accor can exploit the lounge spaces at the stadium, create temporary hotels on the pitch or behind the goals. When there are no matches, people want to sleep at Parc des Princes! There are lots of things that can be done."

PSG had announced on Thursday that from next season they will carry on their shirts the logo of ALL, the loyalty programme of Accor, which has its headquarters just outside Paris.

However, PSG did not say how long the new deal was for, or how much money they stand to earn from it.

The deal brings to an end a 13-year association with Dubai-based airline Emirates, who also sponsor the likes of Real Madrid, Arsenal, Benfica and Hamburg.

PSG had announced last August that they would not renew their partnership with Emirates -- reportedly worth up to 25 million euros ($28.4m) a year -- beyond this season.

A source close to the club indicated that the new deal could put them in the "top four for the best contracts in Europe", which could mean a sum in excess of 50 million euros a year.

Real Madrid's shirt sponsorship deal with Emirates -- the most lucrative in Europe -- is worth 70 million euros a year.

Accor's CEO is Sebastien Bazin, who was the president of PSG for a spell in 2009. PSG were listed as the sixth-richest football club in the world in the latest Deloitte Football Money League with revenue of 541.7 million euros in 2018, with Real Madrid top of the list with 750.9 million euros.

The French champions have been under scrutiny from European football's governing body UEFA after splashing more than 400 million euros in 2017 to sign Brazil star Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

A UEFA investigation into their finances was shelved in June last year before being reopened last September.

PSG reacted by appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), claiming they had met UEFA's Financial Fair Play demands. AFP

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