PARIS: Qatar Sports Investments, the owners of French champions Paris Saint-Germain, are in negotiations over acquiring a stake in Italian club Sampdoria, a source with knowledge of the matter told AFP on Thursday.

QSI, whose president Nasser al-Khelaifi is also the president of PSG, has owned the French club since 2011, transforming a struggling outfit into one of the most powerful in Europe.

It also owns a 22 percent stake in leading Portuguese side Braga and is hoping to further expand its footballing empire to create a “diverse portfolio”, the same source said.

The source said that QSI is hoping to acquire a “minority stake” in Sampdoria, the club from the Mediterranean port city of Genoa who are already condemned to relegation from Serie A with two games of this season remaining.

Sampdoria were one of Italy’s leading sides in the 1980s and early 1990s. They won Serie A in 1991 and were European Cup runners-up the following year, losing to Barcelona in the final.

The same source also confirmed that QSI are interested in investing in Brazilian club Santos, the former team of Pele and current PSG star Neymar, as well as Spanish outfit Malaga.

It has become increasingly commonplace in recent years for multiple clubs in different countries to be in the hands of the same owners.

Abu-Dhabi owned Manchester City are the flagship club of the City Football Group, which also owns La Liga side Girona, French club Troyes, Melbourne City and New York City FC, among other teams.

At the same time as expanding its portfolio, QSI is interested in opening up PSG to outside investment and is “examining different offers”, according to the same source, who claimed that US fund Arctos Sports Partners is “very enthusiastic about the idea of investing” in the French giants.