Paris St-Germain (PSG) have threatened legal action against Lyon owner John Textor, demanding he cease making what they consider “defamatory and damaging statements” about the club.
PSG feel compelled to respond to Textor’s recent interview with Brazilian publication Globo.
In the interview, Textor, who is a majority shareholder in Lyon through his Eagle Football Holdings group and the largest shareholder in Premier League club Crystal Palace, claimed he was competing against “a country, not an owner” and described PSG as a “model of unbridled spending, without restrictions.”
PSG have been majority-owned since 2011 by Qatar Sports Investments, which is linked to the Qatar Investment Authority, the country’s sovereign wealth fund.
In a letter signed by PSG’s general secretary Victoriano Melero, and seen by BBC Sport, the club labeled Textor’s comments as “false, incendiary, undignified, and nonsensical.”
They add: “We would like to respond to a few of your most unwarranted smears that are particularly false, hypocritical, and disrespectful not only to PSG but the wider French football family.
“You falsely state PSG has ‘a model of unbridled spending without restrictions’ while ignoring the fact your own club has had significant issues with Uefa and DNCG restrictions under your management.”
In July of last year, French football’s financial watchdog, the DNCG, announced it would monitor Lyon’s transfers and wage bill for the 2023-24 season, citing insufficient financial guarantees from the Ligue 1 club.
These measures were lifted in December after the DNCG approved Lyon’s new budget.
In their letter, PSG also noted that American John Textor had previously criticized the Premier League’s spending rules in February.
They added: “You mention you are competing ‘against a country’ with PSG, ignorant of the fact that a significant portion of our club today is owned by US investor Arctos – which we thought you might be aware of, coming from the US.
“Less than 20% of PSG’s commercial revenue comes from Qatar companies, while PSG has signed 50 new partners in the last six years and only one of these was a Qatari brand.”
PSG concluded the letter by warning that if Textor continues his “defamatory and damaging statements,” they “will be compelled to initiate additional legal action in France,” adding to his already substantial number of lawsuits in Brazil.
Textor is the largest shareholder of Brazilian top-flight club Botafogo.
A legal case has been filed against him in Brazil by parties he accused of corruption and match-fixing. These accusations were dismissed by the domestic football authorities, but Textor stood by his comments in his Globo interview.