Nasser Al Khelaifi returns to Paris earlier than expected amid crisis at PSG

As Paris Saint-Germain plunge deeper into crisis mode – the defeat to at home against Lyon on Sunday being their eighth since the turn of the year – change appears to be afoot. 

According to Le Parisien, president Nasser Al Khelaifi has returned from the UEFA congress in Lisbon earlier than expected in order to try and quell the situation, with the team set for a trip to Nice this weekend.

The match will be one of two in which Christophe Galtier’s future will reportedly be on the line, before Les Parisiens return to the capital to take on prospective title rivals Lens. Al Khelaifi was at the Parc des Princes for the defeat to Les Gones and was unimpressed with what he saw, speaking with sporting advisor Luís Campos the next day to discuss the state of affairs at the club and how the situation can be improved.

After reportedly lobbying in interim president Philippe Diallo’s favour for the latter’s election to the UEFA executive committee, Al Khelaifi has returned to Paris instead of going to Qatar, as was initially planned. He is expected to attend a training session before Friday in order to show his support to the players. He is not expected to give a speech, but may have a word with some of the senior players on an individual basis, while attending the match in Nice is also a possibility. Whether any major decisions are made during his stay in Paris remains to be seen – but the QSI evidently believes that the situation is critical.

GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin