Money can’t buy everything. Why did star-studded PSG fail to beat Real Madrid?

When PSG assembled a superteam in the summer, many thought they would finally conquer the Champions League. When you have Messi, Neymar and Mbappé in attack, you can’t even aim lower. But the Parisians crashed out to a paper-weak Real Madrid in the eighth round. Why?

When the Champions League eighth-final replay drew Real Madrid and PSG together, everyone was looking forward to the clash of the two giants. Given PSG’s attacking trident, it was the Parisians who were slightly favoured. And for three of the four halves they were indeed in the lead, only for the collapse to come.

The Qatari owners weren’t afraid to invest heavily in the team over the summer. And they shouldn’t have, money is no problem for them, with an almost unlimited budget the squad is easy to build. 80 million euros for Hakimi, 50 million for Nuno Mendes. Plus million dollar contracts for Messi, Ramos, Donnarumma and Wijnaldum.

But money isn’t everything. And while PSG’s Qatari owners may think so, you can’t buy everything with it. You can’t buy character, leadership, winning spirit and the ability to handle big European games. These are exactly the attributes that Real Madrid have.

Fans of Los Blancos in Spain are often fond of saying that this is inexplicable. And indeed it is. Real Madrid are the absolute kings of Europe, having dominated the Champions League 13 times. It revels in tough games and handles them like no other. But how? It’s inexplicable.

Real objectively have no better team than PSG. Certainly not individuality. It is neither flawless defensively nor perfect offensively. But still, when it comes to breaking bread, the game is overwhelmingly manageable.

Against PSG, Real lost 3 out of 4 halves. He had 45 minutes to pull off a two goal lead. There was no indication that they had yet to turn the game around. But it did. Three quick strikes from Karim Benzema and it was all over. This is Real Madrid.

They don’t have to be better than their opponents, they don’t have to have overwhelming possession or lots of shots. But when it’s needed, the players step up and somehow manage the game. This is Rel Madrid. The players have tremendous character, they almost all love the club and are willing to die for it on the pitch. You only have to look at Modric, Benzema, Vinícius, Kroos or Valverde to see how much Real Madrid means to them.

That’s something PSG can’t buy. Even if they have 11 of the best players in the world in their position and 11 of the highest paid players in their squad, at the crucial moment, the TEAM that is set up correctly in character and plays for each other instead of themselves will almost always win.

Why should Messi leave blood on the pitch for PSG? He almost doesn’t care about the club, he only went to Paris because his beloved Barcelona couldn’t afford him. Neymar wanted to leave almost every transfer window, the fans hated him at one time.

Mbappé already sees one foot in Real Madrid, Donnarumma, Hakimi, Nuno Mendes have only been at PSG for half a year. How much love can these players feel for the club? On the other hand, it’s a different story altogether.

Carvajal a club offspring, 9 years in the A-team. Nacho a club product, 11 years in the A-team, never played for another club. Modric – 10 years at Real, Kroos 8 years. Valverde came through the club’s youth, in his fourth year in the AFC, Vinícius exactly the same scenario. Asensio 6 years at Real, Benzema a whopping 13 years. That was the starting lineup of Los Blancos yesterday.

These players really care about the club, they don’t just play for the money. For example, the star Vinícius, who after Benzema is Real’s best player this season, is the lowest paid player in the team. Have you noticed him complaining and wanting an immediate pay rise? No.

On the contrary, he has stated that he doesn’t care about the money, that he loves the club and when the management decides that he deserves a pay rise, it will happen. What a difference with the PSG race. Neymar and Messi are the two highest paid footballers in the world, Mbappé is fourth.

And yet it was only enough to get them to the 8th finals of the Champions League. What comes next in Paris? Another coach sacking and several million dollar transfers? Or will Qatar finally understand that this is not the way to go?

Source: UEFA