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[ad_1] PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday threatened to quit the Parc des Princes ground, which has been their home for almost 50 years, after city officials refused to sell the stadium to them. City mayor Anne Hidalgo said in an interview published in Saturday's Parisien newspaper that the stadium "is not for sale" and "will not be sold" to Qatari-owned PSG. However, a spokesman for the club said he was "disappointed and surprised" that the city wanted to "turn Paris Saint-Germain and their supporters out of the Parc des Princes". "The mayor is forcing PSG to leave its home." He added: "Everyone loses in the position taken by the mayor. PSG is now forced to find alternative options to relocate the club. "This is not the outcome the club, nor its supporters, were hoping for." PSG has made acquisition of the ground in the city's leafy western suburbs a condition for carrying out modernisation and...

[ad_1] PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain have wrapped up a record 11th French title but Monaco risk missing out on European qualification on the final night of the Ligue 1 season on Saturday, while eight-time champions Nantes are facing relegation. PSG will pick up the championship trophy after their home game against Clermont as the Qatar-owned club end a difficult campaign with a celebration. Behind them, Lens are certain to finish as runners-up, meaning they will be in the Champions League group stage next season for the first time since 2002/03. Marseille will finish third and will enter the Champions League in the third qualifying round in early August, with the likes of Panathinaikos, Sturm Graz and Servette among possible opponents. The remaining European spots are still to be decided. One point separates Lille, Rennes and Monaco with just two berths in continental competition available. Lille, Ligue 1 champions in 2021, sit fourth and are on course to qualify for the Eur...

[ad_1] PARIS: Lionel Messi is "much more likely" to leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season than sign a new deal, a source close to the club told AFP on Tuesday. "The dynamics have completely changed with PSG less pushing to renew (his contract)," the source said, adding that there was "no deal, no exit yet. But exit is much more likely." World Cup winner Messi , who will turn 36 in June, joined in 2021 on a two-year deal which expires at the end of this campaign. On Sunday, the Argentine's name was jeered by some PSG fans as the teams were announced prior to the 1-0 home defeat against Lyon in Ligue 1. Supporters of the Qatar-owned club are unhappy at the malaise around the team since they were eliminated from the Champions League in the last 16 by Bayern Munich last month. PSG have lost eight times in 18 games in 2023, a run which has seen them go out of the French Cup prematurely although they remain six points clear at the ...

[ad_1] PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain extended their lead at the top of Ligue 1 with a 3-1 win at Montpellier on Wednesday but their evening was overshadowed by an injury to Kylian Mbappe , who had earlier missed a penalty. The France superstar had an eighth-minute spot-kick saved by Montpellier's Benjamin Lecomte and then remarkably saw his second attempt turned onto the post by the goalkeeper after the referee ordered a retake. Mbappe then limped off with what looked like a hamstring injury midway through the first half, raising the alarm for PSG with the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Bayern Munich now less than two weeks away. Speaking after the game, coach Christophe Galtier suggested the injury was down to a knock rather than a muscle problem. "He took a knock to the back of the knee or the back of the thigh, so we'll see," Galtier told broadcaster Canal Plus. PSG host Bayern in Paris on February 14, with the second leg in Germ...

[ad_1] NICE: Paris Saint-Germain coach Christophe Galtier will face trial in December as a result of an investigation into alleged discrimination, the Nice prosecutor said on Friday. The 56-year-old Galtier and his son John Valovic-Galtier – a player's agent – were taken in for questioning earlier in the day following an investigation launched in April, after claims the coach made racist and Islamophobic remarks about players when he coached Nice in the 2021/22 season. At a hearing on Friday, Galtier "denied the offences of which he could be accused", said the public prosecutor Xavier Bonhomme in a press release. Galtier will stand trial on December 15 before the Nice Criminal Court "on charges of moral harassment and discrimination on the grounds of actual or supposed membership or non-membership of a particular ethnic group, nation, alleged race or religion", the prosecutor said. The offences are punishable by three years' imprisonment and a 4...