Lionel Messi’s departure from Parc des Princes and Neymar’s departure to Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2023 have caused significant consequences for PSG’s finances and international image.
PSG has turned a new page in history in the summer of 2023 . Neymar was pushed to Al-Hilal, and Messi’s contract was not renewed. For the first time since 2017, the home team at Parc des Princes played without both Neymar and Messi in the squad. Of the MNM attacking trio, only Kylian Mbappe remains, whose contract will also expire on June 30.
Even though the captain of the French national team has global glory, his influence still cannot match that of his two former teammates. The signing of Neymar in 2017 marked a major turning point for the PSG “brand” in the international arena. Four years later, the “contract of the century” with Messi had an even greater impact.
And, a few months after parting ways with the two Brazilian and Argentinian stars, their ending adventure in Paris also caused a significant impact in three areas.
Withdrawal of sponsorship contracts
Even though some sponsors have signed with PSG for several years and possibly a few more seasons, there are still some questions about their long-term partnership. The latest case is crypto.com.
The cryptocurrency company has signed a contract with the French champions, a few weeks after signing Messi. They committed to cooperation for 3 seasons and about 8.5 million euros per year. However, after Messi left, this company wanted to review its sponsorship contract with PSG. Currently, both sides are negotiating to terminate the contract 1 year before the expiration date.
What is more surprising is that partners from Qatar such as Aspetar, Ooredoo and Qatar Airways are slow in paying fees. Finally, the search for a sponsor for the back of the shirt and a name for the new Poissy training center is dragging on.
The number of followers on social networks has dropped dramatically
Since the two stars left, PSG’s social networks, especially Instagram, have lost 10 to 15 million followers (of course still much higher than when they arrived). When Messi arrived, in just a few weeks, the club’s account reached more than 20 million subscribers, before continuing to increase during the two years he played for the Parc des Princes team.
Of course, those who stopped following PSG after Messi and Neymar left were more interested in the club itself than the next stop for these two stars. However, according to statistics, there is a large number of people who still follow PSG even when two former Barca stars no longer play for the club. This is considered a rare positive thing after PSG parted ways with Messi and Neymar.
Ticket distribution is delayed
If the Parc des Princes continues to sell out tickets for every match, Ticketplace, the ticket resale platform managed by PSG, has stagnated since this summer. “Previously, when I sold tickets, in less than 48 hours, the tickets were sold out,” explained a fan who pre-booked season tickets at the Borelli stand. He emphasized that his two tickets last season for 6,000 euros were fully refundable.
Meanwhile, this season, he could never cede two tickets for the match against Nice (2-3) on September 15, as well as another pair of tickets for the match against Dortmund (2-0) four days later. Later. Tickets for this weekend’s match against Strasbourg have yet to find a buyer. And in general, many tickets are waiting for resale on the site.
His friends also encountered similar risks with tickets for Lorient (0-0) and Lens (3-1) matches last August. This phenomenon can be observed since the beginning of this season. They can partly be explained by the fact that tourists, who are willing to pay a lot of money to watch Messi or Neymar play, no longer feel attractive without these two stars.
Obviously, the team’s image has weakened significantly, and the PSG brand has gone down significantly after losing two big superstars.
