who is Victoriano Melero, the new general director of PSG?

This trained lawyer was promoted on Tuesday, but has been one of the strong men of the capital club for several years now.

In fact, he was already working in this role. Victoriano Melero was officially appointed general manager of Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday October 8. This 55-year-old jurist will be President Nasser Al-Khelaïfi’s right-hand man in the numerous cases involving the capital’s club. He succeeds Jean-Claude Blanc, whose departure was announced in January 2023. “This appointment is part of the continuation of the new era of the Club, which emphasizes innovation, performance and excellence, on and off the field”welcomed PSG.

As soon as he was appointed, Melero gave an interview to the newspaper The Parisian [article payant]in which he clarified the nature of his mission. “It is about continuing the new phase of development of the club to make it a club of the new generation, in terms of players, fans, partners, citizens and partners. We want to continue to be ahead of the others in all sectors”said the one whose name had not yet taken center stage, but who is far from being a newcomer to PSG.

Arriving in 2017 as general secretary of the club, he is described by Nasser Al-Khelaïfi as “a key figure in the company’s success over the past seven years” who will have to continue “to develop commercial power, performance and innovation” at Paris Saint-Germain. Before that, Victoriano Melero had, for example, managed legal affairs in the sports department of TF1 in the mid-1990s. In 2013, he swapped his role as a lawyer for that of deputy general director and chief of staff to the president of the Federation. French football.

A variety of files are already on his table. In The Parisianthe person concerned revealed that discussions with the Paris town hall around the purchase of the Parc des Princes are still at a standstill and reiterated PSG’s intention to be the owner of its setting. He also spoke about the dispute between the club and Kylian Mbappé, who is claiming 55 million unpaid debts from his former team. “If this decision [celle de ne pas verser cette somme] was taken, there was an agreement between the two parties”he assured, a month after the LFP legal commission ruled in favor of the player.

Its scope will not be limited only to football and the men’s team. Victoriano Melero finds himself at the head of a club employing 240 athletes, some of whom practice handball or judo, like Teddy Riner, whose extension is overdue.“Each of our decisions will be guided by the commitment we owe to our supporters”in any case committed the new strong man of PSG in the press release formalizing his taking office.