Paris to Miami: NBA stars welcome Messi to MLS
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Joan Laporta’s business trip to Qatar seems to have yielded a fruitful outcome already for Barcelona after the Catalan club was reportedly offered a chance to own a club in the Qatari League.
The Barcelona president is said to have met with Qatari businessmen from Baladi Holding during his recent trip to the Middle East as he tried to source revenue for the cash-strapped club.
According to Mundo Deportivo, chairman of the board of directors of Baladi Holdings, Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Attiyah, floated the idea to Laporta about Barcelona owning a franchise in the Qatari League.
Al-Attiyah is believed to have hopes the idea will attract other big European clubs to the country's top flight in the future as they aim to build a super league in the Arab country.
Paris to Miami: NBA stars welcome Messi to MLS
NBAFollowing the success of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Qatar aims to build one of the strongest leagues in world football and attracting some of the best clubs to their country is one way they are considering achieving their target.
Meanwhile, Barcelona hopes to emulate the English Premier League champions, Manchester City's model after the club was offered a chance to own a franchise team in Qatar.
The owners of the English club operate under such a model, with the City Football Group owning several franchises across the globe, including the United States and India, Barca Universal reports.
Man City’s owners currently own other clubs, such as New York City FC (USA), Mumbai City FC (India), Girona (Spain), Melbourne City FC (Australia), and Yokohama F. Marinos (Japan), among others.
Earlier, Sports Brief reported on Barcelona winning the La Liga title for the first time since 2019, thrashing Espanyol 4-2 to wrest the title back from rivals, Real Madrid.
The Catalans clinched their 27th Spanish championship at their neighbours, with scenes turning ugly at full-time as celebrating players were chased by pitch invaders.