- Financial officer questions Saudi deals
- Highlights Neymar transfer
- Dortmund CEO apologises to PSG
WHAT HAPPENED?The Athletic report that Dortmund's chief financial officer Thomas Tress shocked delegates at a meeting of the European Club Association in Berlin this week by suggesting Saudi largesse has allowed some clubs a route out of tight financial fair play situations. Tress then caused something of a diplomatic incident by citing Neymar's £80m ($99.8M) transfer from Paris Saint-Germain to Al-Hilal as a concrete example.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: The two clubs enjoy a cordial relationship but PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi was irate when he learnt of the comments and challenged Tress about them afterwards. Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke reportedly called Al-Khelaifi after the meeting to apologise.
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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR PSG AND BORUSSIA DORTMUND? As fate would have it, Dortmund and PSG meet in Paris in two weeks time as the clubs were drawn together in the Champions League standout group together with Newcastle United and AC Milan. The atmosphere in the Parc des Princes boardroom that evening will be interesting.