Done deal: Qataris buy 21% of Braga for the price of the whole PSG

Rich Arabs are slowly taking a larger share of the European football pie. The latest club into which the Arab capital entered is the Portuguese Braga. The Qatari investment fund under the control of the Al Thani royal family announced today that it bought a 21.67 percent ownership stake in the club from Municipal, and French and Portuguese media revealed that the Arabs paid about 80 million euros for it. As a reminder, the purchase of the entire ownership package of Paris Saint-Germain 11 years ago cost them around the same figure and since then, they have invested over two billion euros in the club from Paris.

Apart from the big three (Benfica, Porto, Sporting) whose price is too high, most of the remaining Portuguese clubs have recently been targeted by foreign investors. Something similar is happening to smaller clubs in Belgium and the Netherlands. All three markets are considered one of the most attractive in terms of developing talented and young players.

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The idea of ​​Arab capital entering Braga came from Luis Campos, who became Paris Saint-Germain's first operative this summer. The director, known for his excellent scouting network and flair for young players, insisted that the Paris club needed a "satellite" club to develop young players or send out first-team players on loan for whom there is no room at the Parc des Princes.

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Campos is a Portuguese who has a great knowledge of the opportunities in football there and knows very well how good an environment Braga is for the development of players. First, the option of joining Vitoria Guimaraes was mentioned, but in the end, PSG bought ownership in Braga. Before that, the Qataris bought the Belgian Premier League team Eupen this summer for a modest amount, covered its debts in the amount of 4 million euros and intend to develop Qatari footballers there and bring them closer to European football.

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And while PSG in Braga in Eupen has two partner clubs that will in a way serve as branches, Qatar's bitter rivals from the United Arab Emirates have long worked out this system and through the City Group have created a network of small clubs that serve as a support to the main club Manchester City. City Group is the owner of New York City in America, Montevideo Torquay in Uruguay, Melbourne City in Australia, Troyes in France, Palermo in Italy, Girona in Spain, Lomela in Belgium, Mumbai City in India, and also has ownership stakes in Chinese Sichuan and Japanese Yokohama.

The last of the petro-monarchies to enter European football are the Saudis. They first bought the Spanish Almeria, and then the English Newcastle. It is expected that they will soon follow in the footsteps of their rivals from Doha and Abu Dhabi and start buying satellite clubs in other European countries.