PSG, isn’t it time to stop buying success? Individuals never win anything, it takes a team

COMMENTARY – Here we go again. PSG’s traditional annual fiasco in the Champions League after their summer assault on the competition’s overall triumph was announced. Will any of the Qatari owners realise yet that money is not the way to success and relying solely on individuals in this competition is not really an option?

Quarter-finals, quarter-finals, quarter-finals, quarter-finals, eight-finals, eight-finals, final, semi-finals, eight-finals, eight-finals. These are PSG’s results in the Champions League over the last 10 years.

And let’s add to that the amounts spent over the transfer period:: €151m, €136m, €50m, €116m, €135m, €238m, €262m, €95m, €62m, €91m (+bonuses for Messi, Ramos and Donnarumma) and most recently €147m (+€100m signing bonus for Mbappé).

These are huge sums. PSG have been trying to buy success in the Champions League for a decade. It’s just been a disappointment, a blunder and a fiasco. 5 times 8 finals, 4 times quarter finals, 1 semi final and 1 final are results for an average club, not for a colossus that regularly spends the most money on reinforcements.

The galactic era ended in a fiasco

In the summer of 2021, after the final and semi-final, PSG thought they were just a whisker short of the title, so they banged the table. And it brought in Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Georginio Wijnaldum, Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes.

And what of it? PSG were unable to win the regular group even once, hence they ran into top-seeded opponents in the eighth-finals and each time it was the end of the line. Last year against Real Madrid, now against Bayern Munich.

Isn’t it finally time for Paris to realise that success can’t be bought? That putting together an attack of Messi, Neymar, Mbappé and betting on them to come up with something just doesn’t work? Make them realise that all the teams that have won the Champions League in recent years have exuded outwardly as a team with a capital T, where everyone pulled together and were a really good bunch.

That’s what’s terribly important on the pitch when things aren’t going well. It just doesn’t work at PSG at all. The cabinet is divided in two, some of the members reportedly don’t even speak to each other. How is it supposed to be on the pitch? A collection of overpaid individuals will never get far.

No team chemistry in sight

Look at Real Madrid last year. Neither PSG, nor Chelsea, nor Manchester City, nor Liverpool lost in any way. Moreover, in most of the games, they were the worse team. It’s just that the team exuded such inner strength, the players seemed like a family, working for each other and willing to lay down their lives on the pitch for the coach. Everyone submitted to the team and in the end it was a magical victory.

Do you see Messi, Neymar or Mbappé getting any more involved defensively in PSG games? Did anyone make a sharp slide to get the rest of the team going as a leader? As soon as the Parisians fail, they are in trouble and no one can do anything about it.

So it will be interesting to see what happens at the Parc des Princes. Owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi was furious after last year’s elimination to Real Madrid, and it took both coach Mauricio Pochettino and sporting director Leonardo to be sacked.

But is it really just down to the coach? PSG have had so many changes over the years that it’s probably not just down to the coach’s ability. The future of the attacking stars is also in question.

The departure of stars?

Mbappé has long been flattered by Real Madrid and although he turned it down last year to extend his contract in Paris, after another fiasco in the eighth-finals, speculation about an exit will start again. Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher, for example, has urged Mbappé to leave PSG and join Real Madrid as soon as possible.

Messi’s contract expires in June and he has not yet signed a new one. There was a lot of talk earlier about him leaving for MLS after two years at PSG. Seeing the current state of the team, will he want to stay?

Neymar reportedly wants to sell himself to the team management. The problem is his frequent injuries, and the fact that for the money he came in (222M euros) and the salary he receives, his performances are not up to par.

So PSG may be in for another earthquake, but it would like to engage a bit of thinking when building the squad and not buy only the most expensive and the most brilliant stars.

Source: Transfermarkt, UEFA