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Nasser Al-Khelaifi
Qatari businessman (born 1973) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Nasser bin Ghanim Al-Khelaifi (Arabic: ناصر بن غانم الخليفي; born 12 November 1973) is a Qatari businessman, sports executive, and former professional tennis player. He is the chairman of beIN Media Group and Qatar Sports Investments,[1][2] president of Paris Saint-Germain and the Qatar Tennis Federation, and vice president of the Asian Tennis Federation for West Asia.[3][4]
 | This article needs to be updated. (July 2023) |
Al-Khelaifi was also a member of the organizing committee for the FIFA Club World Cup,[5] and was elected as the chairman of the European Club Association (ECA) in 2021.[6]
Al-Khelaïfi was honored by ESPN as the seventh most influential individual in the realm of world football in 2015. His influence was further solidified in May 2020 when a France Football ranking positioned him as the most influential personality in the sport.[7]
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Early life and education
Al-Khelaifi was born in Qatar.[8] He graduated with an Economics Degree from Qatar University and got his Master's Degree from the University of Piraeus.
Tennis career
Playing career
As a tennis professional, Al-Khelaifi was the second most successful member of the Qatar Davis Cup team after Sultan Khalfan, playing 43 times between 1992 and 2002 and compiling a 12–31 record in singles, 12–16 in doubles. Al-Khelaifi appeared twice on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) main tour, losing each time in his first round matches in St. Pölten in 1996 (where he lost to former French Open Champion Thomas Muster) and in Doha in 2002. He reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 995 in late 2002.[9][10] He also won the GCC Team Tournament.
Post-playing career
Nasser Al-Khelaifi has been president of the Qatar Tennis Federation (QTF) since November 2008.
In 2011, he was elected vice-president of the Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) for West Asia.[11]
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Business career
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Qatar Sports Investments
Nasser Al-Khelaifi has been chairman of Qatar Sports Investments (QSi) since June 2011. QSi is a sovereign wealth fund dedicated to investments in the sport and leisure industry on a national and international level.[1]
Following the QSi acquisition of Paris Saint-Germain F.C. (PSG) in June 2011,[12] Nasser Al-Khelaifi became the chairman of the board of PSG and also CEO of the club,[13] reinforcing Qatari interest in French football.
QSi has several other high-profile partnerships. QSi also owns the Burrda sportswear brand.[14]
Paris Saint-Germain
Nasser Al-Khelaifi became the new president and chief executive officer of Paris Saint-Germain on 7 October 2011.[15] Shortly after being named president, he presented a five-year plan to take Paris Saint-Germain to the top in France and abroad.[16] As part of the long-term plan for the club, Al-Khelaifi brought in former footballer Leonardo as the new director of football.[17]
Although Al-Khelaifi initially demanded a major trophy haul for the 2011–12 season, PSG were soon eliminated from the UEFA Europa League and both domestic cups, leaving the team only able to spend $130 million on players. PSG failed to dominate, and lost out to eventual winners Montpellier, though they qualified for the UEFA Champions League by finishing second.[18]
In the 2012–13 season, PSG won the Ligue 1 title and also made it to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, partly thanks to the goalscoring of newly signed striker Zlatan Ibrahimović. They eventually lost in a two-legged tie to FC Barcelona on away goals.
In the 2013–14 season, PSG again finished top of Ligue 1 with a record total of 89 points.[19] They reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League where they lost to Chelsea 3–3 on aggregate, again going out only on the away goals rule.
In the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League knockout phase, they lost to Manchester United at home after leading with two goals at Old Trafford in the first leg. PSG lost at home 1–3 (3–3 on aggregate) and were knocked out by the away-goal rule.
In June 2025, after PSG won their first-ever UEFA Champions League title on June 1, marking a historic achievement for the club, Al-Khelaifi announced that he is considering moving the club from the Parc des Princes to a larger stadium outside Paris, such as Massy or Poissy, following the city’s refusal to sell the Parc. The move aims to boost revenue with a bigger venue but risks alienating fans and weakening PSG’s historic identity, especially as rivals like Paris FC gain momentum in the capital.[20][21]
In June 2012, QSi acquired the Paris Handball Club and merged it with the PSG sport franchise.[22] Since 2012, Paris Saint-Germain Handball has won the LNH Division 1 five times, while reaching the EHF Champions League final in 2016–17 and the semi-finals in 2015–16 and 2017–18.
BEIN Media Group
On 31 December 2013, Al Jazeera Sport's global operations were spun out of Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN) and rebranded as beIN Sports.[23] A few months later, beIN Media Group was incorporated and became the official owner of beIN Sports branded networks as well as all other non-news and current affairs assets originally belonging to AJMN.[2] BeIN Sports has 22 channels, including 17 HD channels, and broadcasts across the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, North America, Australia, and Asia. The strategy, aside from building the BeIN premium sports network, is to develop the group's ambitions in sports and entertainment in production, distribution, and digital media sectors.
In October 2017, the Swiss courts opened an investigation against him for suspicion of private corruption in the allocation of television rights for the World Cups 2026 and 2030 for the Middle East and North Africa international media market.[24]
On 30 October 2020, Nasser Al-Khelaifi was cleared of charges of aggravated criminal mismanagement for his alleged part in a corruption trial involving former FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke. However, he was found guilty of forging documents related to television rights for the World Cup and fined 24,000 Swiss francs ($26,500). According to the Swiss attorney general’s office, Valcke exploited his FIFA role between 2013 and 2015 to favour media partners he preferred by providing the media rights for various World Cup and Confederations Cup tournaments.[25]
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Political career
In November 2013, Al-Khelaifi was made minister without portfolio in the Qatari government by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim.[26]
Legal proceedings
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Al-Khelaifi was charged by Swiss federal prosecutors in connection with a wider bribery investigation linked to World Cup television rights in February 2020. However, Khelaifi stated that he was cleared of all suspicions and the case was dismissed.[27]
On 9 March 2022, after Paris Saint-Germain's 1–3 away loss (2–3 aggregate score) to Real Madrid in the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League round of 16, Al-Khelaifi allegedly assaulted a linesman and broke his flag and threatened a Madrid employee with murder.[28][29][30] Following investigation, UEFA cleared Al-Khelaifi of all charges related to the match.[31][32]
On February 5, 2025, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), was charged with complicity in the alleged buying of a vote and harming freedom to vote, related to a 2018 dispute within the Lagardère group. Al-Khelaifi denies any involvement, expressing surprise at the charges and asserting he had no influence over the matter. In response to these legal proceedings, Qatari officials have expressed frustration over what they perceive as unfounded accusations and are reportedly considering withdrawing investments from both PSG and BeIN Sports. Such a move could have significant implications for French football, particularly concerning broadcasting rights and financial stability.[33][34] Weeks following the indictment, a media campaign targeting Al-Khelaifi gained momentum, sparked by a March 2025 episode of Complément d'enquête alleging financial misconduct and conflicts of interest. Analysts and observers have noted potential links between this campaign and geopolitical rivalries, suggesting a coordinated effort to damage Al-Khelaifi's reputation through media amplification and online disinformation. The narrative was being amplified by the RMC Sport, a sport streaming service in France. Its parent company, Altice France is owned by a French-Israeli billionaire Patrick Drahi, who has ties to the Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ), chaired by Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed.[35]
Tayeb Benabderrahmane case
In February 2023, three investigative judges of the Paris tribunal were appointed to examine accusations of “kidnapping, unlawful detention and acts of torture” made by Franco-Algerian lobbyist Tayeb Benabderrahmane, notably targeting Nasser al-Khelaïfi.[36] In July 2023, a search was carried out at Al-Khelaïfi’s Paris residence as part of the investigation.[37] Nasser al-Khelaïfi denied any involvement, denounced the allegations as “lies,” and stated that he was the target of an attempted blackmail, for which he himself filed a complaint in Paris.[38]
In October 2022, lawyer Olivier Pardo, then counsel for Benabderrahmane, claimed that his client possessed recordings relating to the private life of Nasser al-Khelaïfi and had considered using them to obtain “several tens of millions”.[39] These statements, disputed by Al-Khelaïfi, were included in the judicial case file in Paris, within the framework of which Pardo’s law office was searched by the Central Office for the Fight against Organized Crime. Relations between Olivier Pardo and Benabderrahmane had already deteriorated in a dispute over allegedly excessive fees: Pardo had demanded €150,000, including an €84,000 advance, before the Paris Bar ultimately set the amount due at €44,000.[40] Pardo’s credibility was subsequently called into question, as he was referred to the criminal court on charges of fraud and corruption in another, unrelated case involving TotalEnergies.[41]
In parallel, in 2022 Benabderrahmane filed an arbitration claim against the State of Qatar before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (case ARB/22/23).[42]
On 31 May 2023, the Doha criminal court sentenced Benabderrahmane to death in absentia for “intelligence with a foreign power”; two other Franco-Algerian nationals were also targeted by the same judgment.[43] The existence of this conviction was brought to the attention of the French authorities in July 2023 through an official letter from the Qatari authorities, which became public in late September 2023.[44]
On 20 December 2023, in a provisional measures order, the ICSID tribunal directed the State of Qatar not to take any steps to enforce the conviction pronounced on 31 May 2023, specifying that this prohibition covered in particular any Interpol Red Notice request or extradition request.[44]
On 7 July 2025, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention delivered Opinion No. 28/2025, concluding that Benabderrahmane’s deprivation of liberty in Qatar in 2020 was arbitrary, identifying serious violations of due process guarantees (categories I, II and III).[45] The opinion also mentioned allegations of ill-treatment and torture, and recommended remedial measures, including compensation and an independent investigation.[46] This opinion marked the first UN decision formally condemning the State of Qatar in a case involving a French citizen.
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Awards and honors
In February 2012, he won a French 'Sport Business' award, receiving the most votes out of 1,500 and finishing ahead of nine people.[47]
His growing influence in the sport was recognised in 2015 when he was voted 'favourite Ligue 1 president' in a poll conducted by France Football, with 35% of the votes cast.
In 2016, the French daily sport newspaper L'Équipe named him the 'most powerful man in French football' in a 30-man list, ahead of such notable individuals as Didier Deschamps and Zinedine Zidane.[48][49]
In 2019, he was elected by the European Club Association (ECA) as delegate at the UEFA executive committee, becoming the first Arab to hold an UEFA position.[50]
In 2020, he was named the most influential person in football by France Football.[51]
In March 2020, Al-Khelaifi was praised by World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus after offering to help in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic by using his players and club to send health advice messages to the public.[52]
In April 2021, he was appointed as chairman of the ECA by the Executive Board, as Andrea Agnelli stepped down as part of the European Super League project.[53]
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Personal life
He is close to the Emir, Sheikh Tamim, head of sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority.
He is married, and has four children who reside in Qatar.[54]
References
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