Sorry PSG insist future is still bright
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN are European football’s equivalent of HS2 – billions spent and nothing to show for it.
The semi-final defeat by Borussia Dortmund means they have reached one final in 12 Champions League campaigns under their Qatari owners.
The club have spent more than £1.6billion on players but Kylian Mbappe, the last of their Holy Trinity with Neymar and Lionel Messi, is leaving to join Real Madrid in the summer.
Mbappe will leave a chasm in the team because PSG’s next top scorer after his 36 goals is Goncalo Ramos with 11.
But chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi shot down any suggestion that manager Luis Enrique could leave.
“We are building a long-term project with the youngest squad in Europe,” he said. “The future will be bright. We’ll keep going.
“We really thought we could get to the final.We were the better team.
“I’m proud of our team, the youngest in Europe. It’s the third time in five years we’ve made the semi-finals.”
Without Mbappe, the world’s best player, it is hard to see Enrique building a Champions League-winning side.
Real, with Mbappe added to Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr, will be the team to beat next season while Manchester City are going nowhere.
Bayern Munich will stick around, Arsenal are getting stronger and Liverpool are likely to be back.
Bayer Leverkusen will also take some beating under the all-conquering Xabi Alonso.
The lack of top-level competition in France could be stunting PSG’s growth – they simply do not have enough big games to prepare for the cut-throat Champions League knockout stages.
Their failures are not down to the managers.The list under the Qataris reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of top coaches – Carlo Ancelotti, Unai Emery, Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino and now Enrique.
Al-Khelaifi is right and they need a long-term plan. It is just difficult to see the current one working.