Real-Psg, or Florentino Perez-Al Khelaifi: two different concepts of wealth

Opposing stars of international football on the pitch and two different ways of understanding wealth and aiming for the top sitting next to each other in the stands. Real Madrid against Paris Saint Germain is also a challenge between the entrepreneurial concepts expressed by Florentino Pérez and Nasser Al-Khelaïfi. Seventy-five years old, from Madrid, the president of the Merengues; 48 years old, Qatari, the number one of the PSG. The first is a self-made man, a civil engineer capable of climbing the steps of the good Castilian circles, swaying between politics and business in the construction sector. The second is instead a former tennis player who rode the wave of economic development in the Pearl of the Persian Gulf, becoming the reference point of the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar.

The Superlega

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Pérez has a verticalist conception of power: the big clubs must be able to exploit all the economic levers to grow as much as possible, so it is obvious that in his mind the Super League is a project to be blessed. Al-Khelaïfi instead used the obscure regulatory folds to cushion the effects of financial fair play, placing himself in opposition to the greats of the old continent: from his point of view, the Super League is to be rejected. For now he seems to have succeeded, and in addition he has also secured the highest seat of the ECA, although judicial issues continue to haunt him. On the one hand, the engineer who became an aristocrat over the decades, on the other hand, the manager who became rich in a short time: the clash is of values ​​rather than economic ones. Between those who have always walked the red carpet and those who have found it unrolled in front of them thanks to the wealth accumulated in a flash.

The assets

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According to Forbes data, Al-Khelaïfi’s personal assets amounted to 6.2 billion dollars before the pandemic, while Pérez’s current one is 1.9 billion dollars. They have in common the vision of the perfect club: a set of stars put to play on the pitch. Well-known and overpaid footballers who fuel the business with revenues but also make the total costs skyrocket. For a system that is struggling to stand up on its own and is in constant need of liquidity injections from the wealthy owners. Will they have dinner together after the Bernabeu match? If so, the host will obviously offer the banquet.