Paris Saint-Germain signs ground breaking partnership in China

Major multimillion euro agreement will further boost the French club’s global development

Desports, one of Asia’s leading sports marketing agencies, will have exclusive management of Paris Saint-Germain’s Sponsoring rights and license rights in both China and Hong Kong.

The partnership will last for three and a half years from January 2018.

"We started the Paris Saint-Germain project over six years ago. This partnership is an additional proof that our plans are coming to fruition, especially within a very dynamic, exciting Chinese market", said Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, President of Paris Saint-Germain. "We have strong, bold ambitions in China, a great country and a crucial market for the club. Partnering with Desports is a major step we are taking to reach more fans and secure more sponsors and revenue streams in this country, which is becoming more and more passionate about football. Our first experience of the region was when we toured China and Hong Kong during the summer of 2014 and we look forward to further increasing our presence in Asia in the coming months."

Desports has a rich heritage in sports brokerage and aims to connect international sports brands to the Chinese market. Their clients include FIFA, football clubs, national Olympic committees, and sporting events.

“This is just a positive beginning of a long-term partnership between Desports and Paris Saint-Germain,” said Lizhang Jiang, founder and President of Desports. “We are looking forward to explore more collaborations from both sides in the near future, which I firmly believe will be even brighter.”

Earlier this season, Paris Saint-Germain celebrated Chinese New Year with its Chinese supporter base by sharing messages from players, who also wore jerseys with lettering in Mandarin in recent French league game at Parc des Princes.

Paris Saint-Germain has a presence on WeChat, Weibo and Maopai, and is followed by over 1.3 million fans in China. Having grown consistently ever since the beginning of this season, Paris Saint-Germain is the most popular French club in China and one of the world’s most active in that geographical area.

New fan clubs have opened this season in Shenzhen, Harbin, Guangzhou and Shanghai.

Paris Saint-Germain will be making several further announcements related to its expansion in Asia in the coming weeks.