Paris Saint Germain ended up in the storm. According to the French newspapers 'Le Monde' and 'Mediapart', PSG would have created an ad hoc 'lobby' so that its former star Leo Messi would win the Ballon d'Or, between 2020 and 2021. In fact, in two years, the a very rich club from the French capital would have strengthened ties and relationships with Pascal Ferré, then president of the 'France Football' magazine which awarded the award.
According to the reconstruction of 'Le Monde', Ferré was “forced” to delete from the newspaper 'L'Équipe' – part of the Artemis group, which also includes 'France Football' – a publication in which it was reported that the president of PSG Al Khelaifi had received illegal commissions in 2011 due to the signing of Javier Pastore.
As compensation, Ferré, appointed several months ago as head of the communications area of Paris Saint Germain, would have received from the Capitoline club tickets for the capital club's matches, including the one played in 2020 against Borussia Dortmund behind closed doors, as well as a paid business class flight with Qatar Airways for an amount estimated at 8,986 euros, in March 2021. A series of gifts and favors which, according to the reconstructions of French newspapers, would have presumably helped the club to put pressure on Leo Messi to win the coveted 'France Football' trophy once the contract with the team from the French capital is signed.
The police investigations, revealed by Le Monde and Mediapart, highlight some messages from the suspect M. Ribes, the club's former communications director, in which he informed Al Khelaïfi that “they had to lobby” and that they would have lunch with Pascal Ferré.
Ferré and his entourage, however, promptly denied any involvement in the affair. Indeed, the former director of 'France Football' specified that the Argentine champion had not been nominated for the award for 2022 and that in 2021, when he won his seventh personal title, he gave his vote to Robert Lewandowski as the best world player. Furthermore, the current communications manager of PSG underlined that 'France Football' published an issue entitled 'Qatar Gate' in 2010, highlighting the illegal assignment of the 2022 World Cup to the Middle Eastern country complete with a report on Al Khelaifi and his country.
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