Tensions between Qatar-owned PSG and the mayor of Paris over the club’s stadium have deepened, raising further doubts about the future home of the capital’s top side as they chase a ninth Ligue 1 title in 11 seasons.

Paris Saint-Germain chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo were once seen regularly smiling together in the VIP seats of the Parc des Princes, but are no longer on speaking terms after a series of clashes.

At the heart of the quarrel is Khelaifi’s desire to buy the 48,000-seater stadium from the city, which Hidalgo’s left-wing administration has blocked over the past year, most recently in a vote by the city council on February 6.

“We’ve wasted years wanting to buy the Parc,” Khelaifi said angrily last week on the sidelines of a meeting of UEFA. “It’s over now. We want to move from the Parc.”

In other acidic comments, he suggested last month that racism was playing a part — “is it because we are Arabs?” he asked the Parisien newspaper — and he has called for “respect” from the mayor’s office. 

The stakes are high for PSG which wants to follow the model of other major European football clubs by developing hospitality facilities at the stadium and increasing its capacity to 60,000 seats. 

The dispute underlines the prominent role of public authorities in French sports where even elite clubs rarely possess their own stadiums, unlike in Britain or Germany where private ownership is the norm.

PSG signed a 30-year lease for the Parc in 2013 — two years after the Qatari state-backed takeover of the club — meaning it is committed in theory to 2043 unless there are clauses allowing them to break the contract.

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