And the winner is … Qatar! This time, no official representative of the world football association holds a slip of paper in the air, as in December 2010, when the then Fifa boss Sepp Blatter solemnly announced the organizer of the 2022 World Cup tournament. But it is also the result of this unusual transfer summer, which was not least influenced by the Corona circumstances.
Between (self-inflicted) starving big clubs like FC Barcelona and reluctant Bundesliga clubs, there are only a handful of super-rich in Europe from ManCity to FC Chelsea who think they can really eat. But Qatar Saint-Germain, pardon Paris Saint-Germain, tops all of them, even if that doesn’t translate into gigantic replacements. Lionel Messi has signed France’s capital club, which has been part of the sporting empire of the small emirate for a decade, Italy goalkeeper Donnarumma and the warrior Ramos, the coveted right-back Hakimi and midfield strategist Wijnaldum; and the club has even been able to withstand advertising by Real Madrid, which would have called for a package of almost 200 million euros for super speedster Kylian Mbappé.
Good for those who can afford all of this for the big goal of finally winning the Champions League after various failed attempts (and then at least fitting to the home World Cup in Qatar in late autumn 2022). But this summer of transfers provides the right evidence in the sporting field of how the emirate is as planned at the height of its power a year before the start of the controversial football tournament – despite all human rights violations and other questionable political processes.
The influence is great at both Fifa and Uefa
It has been a few years since former DFB President Theo Zwanziger called Qatar the “cancerous growth” of world football – which led to a lawsuit against him, which the Düsseldorf Regional Court dismissed because the statement was covered by freedom of expression. But in the meantime, to stay in the picture, there have been a few more metastases, because world football does not treat the ulcer, but on the contrary fuels its growth.
In all areas, the influence of Qatar and its millions is gigantic. Under the leadership of Gianni Infantino, Fifa maintains an enigmatic closeness. In European football, the Qatari official Nasser Al-Khelaifi, head of a domestic sovereign wealth fund and of Paris Saint-Germain, as Uefa board member and chairman of the ECA club association, is one of the most important players. In qualifying for the World Cup, the emirate, which has already qualified as host for the tournament, will be a guest in the European part of the competition. The state airline Qatar Airways, in turn, sponsors Fifa, Uefa and FC Bayern at the same time – and was also in discussion with the DFB.
So it is hardly surprising that the football scene with Fifa at the top doesn’t really tackle the scandalous World Cup award and other dubious topics of the past. And when warnings from human rights activists that despite all assertions to the contrary, the situation for the workforce in the country is still very bad, are largely unheard or even played down. The German national team was a laudable exception when they positioned themselves at international matches in the spring with public campaigns for human rights – even if they no longer want to continue, as the DFB announced on Wednesday. Football is so imbued with Qatar that the emirate can do what it wants.