Paris Saint-Germain have lobbied and offered "gifts" to France Football editor-in-chief Pascal Ferret to help Lionel Messi's campaign to win the Ballon d'Or in 2021, French newspaper Le Monde has reported.
The aim of the Parisians was for Messi to grab the most prestigious individual award in the world of football while playing for the French team. According to the information, the main actor was the director of the PSG press office, Jean-Marcial Ribét. Ferre, who is in charge of organizing the 2019-2021 Ballon d'Or, is said to have received various gifts, including Champions League tickets (including the behind-the-scenes match against Borussia Dortmund), several trips to Doha, and his with Qatar Airways in March 2021 worth €8,986 was paid by the Qatari government.
On September 18, 2021, Ribét sent a message to PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi with the following content: "We will 'lobby', so let's have lunch with Pascal". Eventually, two months later, Messi won the Ballon d'Or for the seventh time in his career.
A report by the General Inspectorate of the French police alleges that Ribét courted other high-ranking individuals. "He asked for tickets to PSG matches for journalists, politicians, representatives of the authorities, officials of ministries and the presidency, actors," the report said. /BGNES
