Will PSG try another way? They may well lose all their stars over the summer

In the summer of 2021, it was a big deal. PSG built a Messi-Neymar-Mbappé attack that was supposed to crush all opponents. But the opposite happened, the team didn’t work at all, and after two years all the stars may well leave.

Except for the “supertrio” Messi-Neymar-Mbappé, PSG also brought in Sergio Ramos, the long-time captain of Real Madrid. There were other stars like Achraf Hakimi, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Marco Verratti.

The Parisians were seen as a huge favourite to crush any opponent that came their way. But having big stars on paper doesn’t mean a functioning team. The three superstars with big egos didn’t do much for the team, the defensive side didn’t do anything for them and PSG deservedly crashed out twice in the Champions League eighth round.

And the galactic star project is falling apart. The first to abandon ship was Lionel Messi, who became enemy number one of the fans and was the subject of frequent boos and whistles. Next up is Neymar, whom the management wants to get rid of. Sergio Ramos has also left Paris.

The only one of the stars who should have stayed is Kylian Mbappé. According to French media, PSG reportedly abandoned the star project of buying expensive reinforcements, wanting to go the way of young French talent, with Mbappé to be the main face of the project.

But the 24-year-old striker has kind of stabbed PSG in the back. Officially, the club’s management announced that he will not renew his contract, which expires next year. According to renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano, PSG has no intention of letting Mbappé go for free next year, so they are open to an immediate sale.

It is thus quite possible that PSG will lose all three attacking stars in one summer. It would usher in a whole new era where, for the first time since the takeover by the Qatari sheikhs, the Parisian big club would not try to rise to the top by buying superstars.

It’s likely that the management was fooled by the last two years when they played all-in. They threw unimaginable money out of the window to assemble the Mbappé-Messi-Neymar attack, lest the Frenchman leave for Real Madrid, the management gave him a galactic contract, the biggest in football history. And it still ended with a knockout in the eighth round.

It can’t get any worse, so PSG will try another way. And as we see in the national team, France has a lot to offer, so maybe a home-grown path with young talent will bring more success than relying on overpriced stars with big egos.

Source: PSG, L’Équipe