The Secret to Success? With Luís Campos, PSG Sells Like Never Before!

Fifteen years ago, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) began to revolutionize the transfer market. The influx of Qatari capital, following the acquisition by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), transformed the French club into a nouveau riche powerhouse, sparing no expense to bolster its squad.

Despite the massive investments, PSG initially seemed to be a club focused solely on domestic success. Year after year, the Parisians steadily increased their national title count, rising from two to fourteen since the QSI takeover.

The only exceptions to PSG's dominance, besides the first season after the Qatari funds arrived when Montpellier claimed the title, were the 2016/2017 and 2020/2021 campaigns, when Monaco and Lille, respectively, celebrated championship victories.

And in both of those exceptional seasons, one name was consistently present: Luís Campos.

In Monaco's case, the title came in the season immediately following the Portuguese's departure from the club. However, a significant portion of that squad had been assembled by him during his three years as an advisor and sporting director, as was the hiring of coach Leonardo Jardim.

When Lille managed to 'steal' the title from PSG by a single point, it was the culmination of four years of the Portuguese's work at the club.

And since even the Qataris must be familiar with the adage, "if you can't beat them (always!), join them," two years later, they recruited Luís Campos. The 61-year-old Portuguese then did what he does best: initiated a revolution.

It would be easy to simply look at the sporting results and note that, since the 2022/2023 season, in addition to four domestic titles, PSG has also begun to achieve international success, winning the Champions League for the first time in history in 2024/25, and repeating the feat the following season.

However, Luís Campos's influence is most evident in how PSG has transformed its selling strategy. The Portuguese's management of dispensable assets is widely praised in the French press and is backed by impressive figures.

Even excluding another market with significant sales, like the current one – with Gonçalo Ramos at the forefront, generating 74 million from his move to AC Milan – in his first four seasons with the Parisians, Luís Campos enabled the club to generate more revenue through player sales than PSG had managed in the 10 years prior to his arrival, which corresponds to the QSI era.

According to data from Transfermarkt, a specialized transfer market website, between 2011/12 and 2021/2022, PSG generated 469.7 million euros, with Gonçalo Guedes's 40 million euro transfer to Valencia being their most lucrative sale.

In the last four seasons, with Campos at the helm, the club accumulated 481.55 million euros, topped by Neymar's 90 million euro move to Al Hilal.

These figures are further boosted by 159 million euros from four sales in the current transfer window, with still a month left before it closes.

A recipe for success that has already allowed the club to amass 640 million euros.