What Celtic fans should know about Braga’s links to PSG as Qatari investment examined

Add as preferred source on Google

Celtic will go into tonight’s Europa League match against Braga as favourites.

Despite Brendan Rodgers’ side having far from a perfect start to the season, they will still be expected to beat a side in a much more difficult moment.

Braga boss Carlos Vicens, who is in his first senior job in management, is already under threat in his position after winning just two of his first seven league matches.

Despite this, the Portuguese side did seal a victory in their first Europa League match against Feyenoord, a sign of the threat they pose to the Hoops.

And one of the main reasons for this threat is their links to another European club – the Champions League holders, no less.

Braga’s investment links to Paris Saint-Germain

PSG’s Champions League victory was the culmination of an investment project which started 14 years earlier, when Qatari Sports Investments bought the Parisian club over.

However, the Qataris are not done there. In 2022, they bought a 21.67% stake in Braga, before increasing that to 29.6% a year later.

READ MORE: What Mikael Lustig really thinks about his iconic Atomic Kitten Celtic chant

So what is the motivation for their involvement at Braga? Is a fully-fledged multi-group on the horizon, or is it something more subtle? Fan ownership rules in Portugal make it an interesting case.

Portuguese football expert Aaron Barton told BBC Sport in 2023: “[Braga owner] Antonio Salvador said [QSI] are helping in aspects other than financial.

“Marketing, connections, trying to cast a wider net for scouting. [PSG president] Nasser Al-Khelaifi was at the inauguration of the sports complex Braga have opened, their new state of the art training facilities. That is the direction Braga are aiming for.

“They are not fully funded by QSI. As far as Braga are concerned, they have made their money through player sales – and until now have not put much back into the club.

“They are proud of the QSI relationship – Al-Khalifi is in pictures on their website. But mostly they are keeping their cards close to their chest.”

The clubs’ links have manifested in the transfer market, so they are clearly not being run separately.

Gabriel Moscardo is currently on loan at Braga from PSG, but will not feature against the Hoops due to injury. Cher Ndour made the same move last summer.

Celtic’s European encounters with multi-club groups

Celtic have been in European action against football investment groups before, and fans have been vocal on it.

The Hoops have had numerous encounters from clubs in the Red Bull group – most notoriously in 2018 when both RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg were in the same Europa League group as the Celts.

Banners shown at Celtic Park made fans’ unhappiness at the absurd situation clear. Salzburg won the group, but a dramatic final matchday saw the Hoops knock Leipzig out.

Celtic’s upcoming opponents in this season’s competition, AS Roma, are owned by the same family as Premier League side Everton. It seems as though this trend is only headed in one direction.