Paris denies wanting to sell Parc des Princes to PSG

Paris: The city council of Paris has denied that it is in talks with the Qatari owners of French football giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to sell the Parc des Princes stadium, after a newspaper claimed such contacts exist.

"Paris formally denies the information that it has made an offer to PSG to sell the Parc des Princes," the city council of Paris said in a statement on Friday.

The newspaper Le Parisien indicated on Friday that representatives of mayor Anne Hidalgo have already held several secret meetings with the leadership of the PSG, chaired by Qatari Nasser al-Khelaifi, to try to fix a price for the legendary stadium, which the Parisian club uses for its home games, Efe reported.

Le Parisien said the initial offer was around 100 million euros ($111.6 million).

The council noted that PSG signed last year an agreement for its right to use the Parc des Princes until 2044, in exchange for an investment of 75 million euros ($83.7 million) for the renovation of the stadium before the European Championship next year.

In addition, the council said that something as complex as the sale of Parc des Princes cannot be done without the agreement of the municipal council and after several studies.

Opened in 1972, the stadium has hosted some historic moments for French sport, such as the triumph of its national football team in the final of 1984 Euro Championship against Spain.