Paris Saint-Germain ultras have called on president Nasser Al-Khelaifi to resign following the club’s Champions League exit to Real Madrid.
The ultras have called for meaningful change in the club’s board of directors, a month on from their major protest at a Ligue 1 clash in which they blasted the ‘overpaid mercenaries’ on their books and attacked the board.
PSG were left stunned as they were eliminated from the Champions League on Wednesday night against Real Madrid with a late collapse in the game.
A quickfire second half hat-trick from Karim Benzema turned the tie in the hosts' favour with a comeback described as "magic" by home boss Carlo Ancelotti.
Yet it was an all too familiar collapse for the French club, who have never won the coveted prize and have suffered several humbling comebacks in the knockout stage of the competition.
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This season’s collapse brought back horror memories of their 6-1 defeat in Barcelona in 2017 and blowing a two-goal advantage over Manchester United in 2019.
Al-Khelaifi became the new president and CEO of PSG in October 2011 and despite a multitude of domestic trophies since, the club have yet to find success on the European stage.
Their best performance in the competition was in the 2019/20 campaign, when they reached the final under Thomas Tuchel but fell short in the final against Bayern Munich.
Their exit from the Round of 16 stage of this stage’s competition has led to the major fan group criticising the club and demanding a change in direction at the top.
The ultras group released a statement as an open letter to the club on Saturday, which read:
“The unacceptable and inevitable disillusion that we feared and foresaw has unfortunately been realised.
How can you have this mindset that moves mountains when your season seems to begin in February and you play domestic competitions at a senatorial pace?
How can you have a genuine game plan when your squad is nothing but a bunch of ‘stars’ who barely compliment one another?
How can a coach be the respected boss of the changing room when he is manifestly not the true decision maker?
How can you regenerate a squad when endless subs can happily see out their contracts with such comfortable salaries?
How can you feel the immutable force of the history of your club when their colours alternate between black, fuchsia, pink, yellow…?
How can you want to change everything for the people of Paris when you settle for waving to them from the penalty spot and when you’re more often seen at Fashion Week than at a meeting with the representatives of your own fans?
We don’t have a short memory. We know what our return owes to President Nasser Al-Khelaïfi but it is clear he is not the man for the job. The club’s current situation requires complete reorganisation at all levels going forward and the daily presence of its president.
Our Paris Saint-Germain deserves people who serve it, not people who are served by it. Against Bordeaux on Sunday, we will show our displeasure and we ask everyone who loves this club, who will be present, to unite with our non-violent action.
We will remain mobilised until genuine, large-scale changes have been made. We do it in the greater interest of a club, not a brand, not a marketing product, OUR CLUB! Allez Paris.”
PSG – who are 13 points clear at the top of Ligue 1 – host Bordeaux on Saturday but their European exit is likely to prove definitive for their season and the future of their boss Mauricio Pochettino.
