Kevin Durant buys minority stake in Paris Saint-Germain, partners with QSI
PARIS (AP) — NBA star Kevin Durant has purchased a minority stake in Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain, the French club said Friday.
Qatar Sports Investments, PSG's majority shareholder, signed an investment and strategic partnership agreement with Durant, the club said in a statement. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
'Under the terms of the partnership, Durant — via his media and investment company Boardroom, co-founded with long-time business partner Rich Kleiman — will acquire a direct minority stake in the club,' PSG's statement said.
The 36-year-old Phoenix Suns forward is a two-time NBA champion and one of the league's elite shot makers.
Durant became the first four-time men's gold medalist in Olympic basketball history when the U.S. took gold at last summer's Paris Olympics.
'It is an honor to partner with QSI and be a shareholder in Paris Saint-Germain — a club and city that is deeply close to my heart,' Durant said in comments provided by PSG. 'This club has big plans and I look forward to being part of the next phase of growth and exploring new investment opportunities with QSI.'
The announcement comes amid talks between the NBA, FIBA and other entities about the process of adding a new league in Europe.
Thursdays
Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.
As part of the deal, Boardroom Sports Holdings — Durant's personal investment vehicle, which holds stakes in a number of major sports teams and leagues — and QSI will join forces on a wide range of commercial, investment and content production initiatives.
PSG added that Durant will support the club's diversification and growth strategy, as well as the development of the club's development in the U.S. and other international markets. He will also provide expertise on the club's multi-port strategy, including future plans in basketball.
'Together with Kevin, we look forward to developing ambitious initiatives that will drive the continued global growth of Paris Saint-Germain and QSI,' said PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
18 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
List of most expensive soccer signings in history
Florian Wirtz became one of the most expensive players in soccer history when the Germany playmaker joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen on Friday for a fee of up to 116 million pounds ($156 million). Neymar: $262 million (222 million euros) Paris Saint-Germain shattered the world-record transfer fee by signing the Brazil superstar from Barcelona in August 2017. It was more than double the outlay of Manchester United to sign Paul Pogba from Juventus for $116 million a year earlier. It remains the record transfer fee. ___ Kylian Mbappé: $216 million (180 million euros) A few weeks after buying Neymar, PSG also secured a loan deal for Mbappé — then the rising star of French soccer playing for Monaco — that included the option to make the move permanent in 2018. PSG did so, making it an outlay of nearly $500 million on two players. ___ Philippe Coutinho: $192 million (160 million euros) Flush with cash after selling Neymar a year earlier, Barcelona spent most of it in a deal to buy Brazil playmaker Coutinho from Liverpool for a Spanish record fee. ___ Moises Caicedo: $146 million (115 million pounds) The Ecuador midfielder's move was previously the most expensive deal by a British club, with Chelsea buying him from Brighton in August 2023. ___ João Félix: $140 million (126 million euros) Atletico Madrid triggered a buyout clause in Félix's contract to sign the Portugal forward from Benfica in August 2019. ___ Jude Bellingham: $139 million (128.5 million euros) The England star got his big move to Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund in June 2023, for an initial up-front fee of 103 million euros plus add-ons linked to performance. ___ Antoine Griezmann: $134 million (120 million euros) Atletico could afford to sign Félix after selling France forward Griezmann to Barcelona for a similar fee a few weeks earlier. ___ Neymar: $98 million (90 million euros) Outside from Europe, the biggest transfer deal also involved Neymar when he joined Al Hilal, a team in the Saudi Pro League, from Paris Saint-Germain in August 2023. That came at the height of Saudi Arabia's push to sign high-end soccer talent to ignite the oil-rich state's domestic league. ___ AP soccer:
National Post
27 minutes ago
- National Post
Pascal Siakam making doubters who wouldn't trade for him look silly in NBA Finals
Hands up if you expected this NBA Finals to go seven games. Article content If you did, you're in select company because most thought the Oklahoma City Thunder would prevail in five games. Article content Article content Sure, there were some Thunder-in-six picks too (and even a sweep for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's squad was a popular play in Vegas), but seven games, nah, wasn't going to happen. Well, the Indiana Pacers had something to say about that and it's winner-take-all on Sunday. Article content In a Willis Reed-like performance, Pacers all-star Tyrese Haliburton, rumoured to have an injury that would have kept him out of a couple of weeks of regular-season action, not only played in Thursday's shocking blowout win, but performed well and inspired his teammates in the process, much like Reed did back in the day for the New York Knicks. Article content The Pacers fed off a raucous crowd that hasn't seen a team reach these heights since the ABA years, when Indiana was the class of the now-defunct league, winning three championships and repeatedly reaching the final. Article content The team has gone 8-3 at home, but that massive advantage is now gone and they'll have to win in Oklahoma City, where the Thunder has gone 10-2 in the playoffs. Article content An impossible task? No, but it's hard to imagine all of the Thunder's best players stinking the way they did in Game 6. Then again, who would have thought this would go seven games!? Article content Article content Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams (coming off a ridiculously impressive 40-point performance), Chet Holmgren (who also starred in Game 5) and Lu Dort (excellent pretty much all series) did not look like themselves. They played like they hadn't been in a game as big as this before (as if big tests by Denver in Round 2 or the big comeback against Indiana earlier never happened). Article content Article content Gilgeous-Alexander tied his career regular-season-high with eight turnovers, Holmgren couldn't hit anything while Williams and Dort also went cold. Article content They didn't move the ball, unlike the Pacers, who didn't even shoot all that well, but were zinging the ball around the court with aplomb and generated 12 more three-point attempts than the visitors. It was a 'your turn, my turn,' sort of performance and that wasn't going to work. Article content The Thunder must get back to sharing and not forcing, and that should lead to better offensive work. (The starters went just 1-for-13 from three so it can't get any worse) and fewer turnovers would help, too. Article content None of the mistakes or results from Game 6 will matter if the Thunder closes its season with a win Sunday. Article content 'It's one game for everything you've dreamed of. You win it you get everything,' Gilgeous-Alexander said late Thursday.
National Post
27 minutes ago
- National Post
Canadian NBA star charged with reckless driving in Indiana
Having a bum ankle apparently didn't stop Zach Edey from putting his foot to the floor while driving earlier this week. Article content The Memphis Grizzlies centre, who was born and raised in Toronto, has been charged with reckless driving after being pulled over by police for speeding earlier this month. Article content Article content According to Fox 59, an Indiana State Trooper pulled over the 23-year-old big man, who was driving a Kia Sorento, at 7:03 p.m. and issued him a citation. Article content Edey reportedly told the officers that the only reason he was driving at that speed was because he was trying to pass another vehicle. Article content Edey appeared in a photo posted by the school on May 6 alongside several current Purdue players and other alumni. Article content Article content View this post on Instagram A post shared by Purdue Basketball (@boilerball) Article content Edey reportedly is to be due to be in Tippecanoe Superior 6 court on Monday to face the misdemeanor charge of reckless driving. Article content The 7-foot-3 Canadian is coming off a solid rookie season with Grizzlies. He was named to the NBA's all-rookie first team after notching 9.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game over the 66 contests he appeared in and collecting 85 total blocks. Article content During his time with Purdue, Edey was a two-time NCAA player of the year and was selected ninth overall by Memphis in last year's draft. Article content However, his sophomore season likely will have a delayed start after Edey underwent surgery on his left ankle earlier this month. The big man required the procedure to repair and restabilize his ankle after spraining it again during off-season training. He also had missed 12 games early in his rookie season due to a sprained ankle. Article content
