Durant invests in Paris Saint-Germain, helping French Ligue 1 giants expand their basketball territory

Recently, NBA star Kevin Durant officially acquired a stake in the Ligue 1 champion Paris Saint-Germain Club. The funding is part of Paris Saint-Germain's development strategy, aiming to leverage Durant's expertise to help the club explore and expand its business in basketball.

It is reported that Durant, who currently plays for the Phoenix Suns, established a cooperative relationship with Paris Saint-Germain as early as August 2024. The two sides recently cooperated to launch limited edition joint products, including customized Nike Air Force 1 Low sneakers, baseball jackets and basketballs.

Now, Durant's partnership with Paris Saint-Germain has been upgraded. Durant, 36, signed an agreement with Qatar Sports Investment Company, the owner of Paris Saint-Germain, through his company Boardroom, to directly purchase the club's shares.

As a new shareholder, Durant will actively participate in the US market expansion action in the Paris Saint-Germain development plan and will serve as an advisory role as the club explores a potential transformation to the basketball field.

Durant said in a statement: "I am very honored to be able to cooperate with Qatar Sports Investment and become a shareholder of Paris Saint-Germain. This club and the city of Paris have a special place in my heart. The club has a grand plan in the future, and I can't wait to participate in its next stage of growth and explore new investment opportunities with Qatar Sports Investment."

Qatar Sports Investment and Paris Saint-Germain Chairman Nasser Algelefi responded to this: "Qatar Sports Investment The company is pleased that Kevin Durant has become a direct shareholder of Paris Saint-Germain and a strategic partner of our group. We are always committed to enhancing the club and our wider portfolio through high-impact collaboration with strategic value, innovation and a global perspective. We look forward to working with Kevin to develop an ambitious plan to drive the sustained growth of Paris Saint-Germain and Qatar Sports Investment on a global scale. ”

It is worth noting that Qatar Sports Investment has confirmed earlier this year that it has made initial contacts on the possibility of forming a basketball team. This trend is related to the NBA Europe concept being promoted by NBA President Adam Silver, which aims to challenge the current mainstream European basketball game EuroLeague. Many French stars, such as Nicholas Batum, Zachary Rissache and Parisian local player Victor Vinbanyama, have honed their skills in EuroLeague before entering the NBA.