PSG make dramatic stadium admission as Newcastle United learn staggering €153m PSR truth

Nasser Al-Khelaifi has claimed that PSG will be 'dead' without a bigger stadium as the Ligue 1 champions join Newcastle United and clubs across Europe in exploring their options.

A host of sides are looking into expansions, redevelopments or moves elsewhere in an attempt to boost revenues in a PSR era and Newcastle are no different. The £37.9m in match day income that Newcastle generated in 2022-23 paled in comparison to the club's rivals and Brad Miller, the Magpies' chief operating officer, has tellingly highlighted the financial benefits of either staying at St James' Park or relocating. Miller said a 'transformed' St James' would bring in 'significantly more money' while a new ground elsewhere has the potential to 'earn more than twice as much'.

Newcastle already boast a bigger stadium than, say, PSG but the landscape has changed considerably since St James' was once the second biggest ground in the Premier League. Spurs, West Ham, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City have all leapfrogged Newcastle in terms of capacity and that gap will only get bigger. Everton will move into a bigger stadium next season; Manchester City will soon be able to accommodate more than 61,000 fans at the Etihad; and Manchester United and Arsenal are looking into the possibility of potentially increasing capacity to 100,000 seats and 80,000 seats respectively.

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This is not just a trend in England, of course, and PSG are also assessing their options. For context, only Barcelona generated more match day income than PSG (€153m) at the Parc des Princes in 2023, according to UEFA, while the Parisian giants take home more gate revenue per fan (€140.20) than any other side in Europe. However, Al-Khelaifi has noted how Barcelona are increasing the capacity of the Nou Camp to 105,000 supporters while Real Madrid have revamped the Santiago Bernabeu.

"I really like the Parc," the PSG president told RMC. "Everyone does. If I listen to my heart, we’re not leaving the Parc, but all the big teams in Europe have stadiums with 80,000, 90,000 seats. We need that too. Otherwise we’re dead."