Investments in the billions, a horde of superstars, expensive trainers and yet no handle pot. Paris Saint-Germain is once again empty handed. Qatari owners are getting restless.
Real Madrid. Real Madrid of all places. The club, which will probably snatch away Paris Saint-Germain’s great hope for the future next summer with superstar Kylian Mbappé, has now also destroyed hopes in the present. Again no Champions League title for the French. Another big disappointment in the knockout phase. This time even in the round of 16.
Everything looked so good though. 1-0 win in the first leg, 1-0 lead in the second leg. But in the end the scoreboard was 1:3 after the second game. The bosses’ anger was so great that they overlooked their own team’s underperformance and blamed referee Danny Makkelie. According to media reports, they stormed into his cabin and were about to become violent.
Lionel Messi stares into space, Real Madrid celebrates. (Source: PanoramiC/imago images)
This outburst shows how nerve-wracked Paris is. The club is down. The Qatari owners are angry. Since 2011, they have pumped many millions into the PSG coffers every year. In terms of transfer fees alone, there is a transfer minus of around one billion euros. There are also lavish bonuses and salaries for the star ensemble around Neymar, Lionel Messi and Mbappé. And then there is the new training center, which should be completed in the near future. Cost point: around 350 million euros. The investment therefore amounts to several billion euros.
The yield is manageable: PSG has won seven championship titles, an eighth will be added this year. Paris won the national cup six times. President Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Co. have to wait for the seventh after losing to Nice in the round of 16. Speaking of out in the round of 16: PSG could not win the Champions League once.
Record in the Champions League:
- 2011/12: Did not qualify
- 2012/13: quarter-finals
- 2013/14: quarter-finals
- 2014/15: quarter-finals
- 2015/16: quarter-finals
- 2016/17: Round of 16
- 2017/18: Round of 16
- 2018/19: Round of 16
- 2019/20: Final
- 2020/21: semi-finals
- 2021/22: Round of 16
A disaster for a club with such ambitions. The reasons for this are different. In the early years PSG can be credited with the fact that the squad was not yet at the level of the competition.
But at the latest with the purchase of Neymar in 2017 for an incredible 222 million euros, the situation was different. PSG was immediately a title favorite. When Kylian Mbappé, the greatest talent in world football, joined a year later, it was only a matter of time before it would work. The international title drought in the following years led to perhaps the most spectacular change of this decade. Lionel Messi came to the Seine from Barcelona. At least now PSG was considered unbeatable. Messi, Neymar and Mbappé in one team.
The comparison to real
What sounds like the result of a teenager’s transfer period playing football manager on his home computer was the reality. The problem: PSG invested only a fraction of the sum in other parts of the team, almost everything went into the offensive. There was a lack of balance in the team. The individual quality in attack was not available in defense. According to media reports from France, this often led to unrest and incomprehension within the team.
When DAZN expert Sandro Wagner analyzed at the end of the Paris debacle in Madrid that Real “would have wanted it more”, he indirectly addressed Paris’ biggest problem: the team rarely works as a team. While Real Madrid’s experienced striker Karim Benzema, aged 34, repeatedly pressed in a targeted manner, never left the opposing defenders alone and 36-year-old Luka Modric started sprinting forwards and backwards even in the final phase, the Parisian star ensemble showed up in attack once again little enthusiasm for defensive work.
It was emblematic of the current season. Neither Messi nor Neymar regularly work backwards. The lightning-fast Mbappé also likes to trot when the opponent has the ball. Far too often PSG is outnumbered, which the opponents know how to take advantage of. That also made the difference on Wednesday.
The difference to the top of the world
However, the opposite is the case with more successful teams such as Liverpool, Bayern or Manchester City. They have understood the importance of a clear game system and the right balance. These teams have also put their money into defense in recent years, even if they were frowned upon for it. Liverpool spent €85m on Virgil van Dijk four years ago. Such a sum for a centre-back? Totally exaggerated, they said. The result from the summer of 2019 is known.
Virgil van Dijk with the handle pot in summer 2019. (Source: Sven Simon / imago images)
And Manchester City signed Rúben Dias for 68 million euros for the defensive center in the summer of 2020. A year later he was voted player of the season in the Premier League and won the championship with the “Skyblues” in what is probably the strongest league in the world.
What Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Manchester City have realized: Money scores goals, but only if you invest it properly. The Qatari owners of Paris Saint-Germain still have some catching up to do on this point.
A change is imminent – but is it wanted?
The coming summer will also be difficult for Al-Khelaifi and sports director Leonardo. Because Kylian Mbappé is likely to leave the club free of charge for Madrid. Lionel Messi (then 35 years old), Angel di Maria (34) and Neymar (30) are no longer long-term options either.
For Lionel Messi (left) and Neymar, the season is going far below expectations. (Source: AFLOSPORT/imago images)
There is no shortage of older players in midfield either. Ander Herrera (32), Idrissa Gueye (32), Georginio Wijnaldum (31) and Danilo Pereira (30) have in some cases already passed their peak and are no longer playing at the level of previous years.
In addition, there is the uncertain future of coach Mauricio Pochettino. His record is disappointing. While predecessor Thomas Tuchel still led PSG to the Champions League final, the Argentine even missed the championship title last summer. His end is considered sealed. It is unclear how long the executive floor will hold on to the controversial sports director Leonardo.
It smells like upheaval at PSG. The only question is whether the Qatari owners are willing to do so after investing billions. Otherwise, the international title drought could continue.