Football is a simple game, at least according to Bill Shankly, but chasing success in the sport is far more nuanced and complicated than signing the best players in the world. Just ask any Paris Saint-Germain supporter.
As Kylian Mbappe prepares to wave farewell to the Parc de Princes, having this week told the club his desire to leave in the summer, he represents the last domino of PSG’s lucrative dynasty to fall.
The World Cup winner has given Real Madrid the green light to sign him in the summer after publicly refusing to sign another contract extension with the French giants, indicating his wish to move to the Bernabeu on a free transfer when his current deal expires.
It marks a catastrophic blow for the reigning Ligue 1 champions, who have invested significantly in the Parisian since his initial move to the club, and calls an end to the club’s disappointing era of heavy spending.
Hell-bent on dominating Europe and establishing a super team for the ages, PSG’s Qatari owners loosened their purse strings like no-one before them in 2017, luring Barcelona’s Neymar for a world record fee of £190million and French wonderkid Mbappe from Monaco for £163m.
Partnering the French giants’ new dynamic duo over the next few years, the likes of Mauro Icardi, Leandro Paredes, Abdou Diallo and Thilo Kehrer all arrived at the club for transfer fees in the region of £30m or more. Each and every one of those signings proved a disappointment.
After successive Champions League exits in the last 16 during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 campaigns, PSG finally reached the final of the tournament for the first time in their history.
It seemed for all the world that the Qatari-funded club, guided by attacking gems Neymar and Mbappe, would finally lift European silverware – but Bayern Munich snatched a narrow 1-0 victory in the final.
Strike one.
After exiting in the semi-finals to Manchester City the following year, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi doubled down with the capture of Lionel Messi from Barcelona in August 2021. A final roll of the dice to create, without question, the most enviable front three in world football.
The Argentine’s arrival came just months after PSG offered Neymar an eye-watering contract extension worth £957,000, up from £596,000 when he first signed. The salary, which was just shy of Messi’s £1.08m-a-week deal, ensured the Brazilian’s stay at the Parc de Princes.
The higher the wage bill grew, the more painful the Champions League exit. After carving out a 1-0 advantage in the first leg of their last 16 tie against Real Madrid in 2022, PSG fell to a shock 3-2 defeat on aggregate against the European juggernauts they had always wished to emulate. And worse still, the Spanish giants were on the cusp of luring Mbappe to the Bernabeu.
Strike two.
Refusing to give up on the project that summer, PSG tempted Mbappe to stay with a record deal worth £1.22m-a-year, handing the young Frenchman contractual control of board decisions at the club.
In total, from the summer of 2017 to the day Mbappe’s contract expires in June, PSG will have spent an astonishing £807m on the front three alone, in terms of transfer fees and wages. The impact of their salaries works out at just over £450m.
Mbappe’s unprecedented contract extension led to a series of issues in Paris. He clashed with former boss Christophe Galtier over his preferred position on the pitch, keen to play on the left flank rather than as a central striker.
Of course for PSG, who had crafted their super team with the image of Neymar off the left, Messi on the right and Mbappe down the middle, the forward’s demands added complications. Do they submit to Mbappe or stick by the initial plan – and risk upsetting the forward?
For Neymar and Messi, last season’s Champions League exit to Bayern Munich in the last 16 was the final straw. A 3-0 aggregate defeat showed the French giants were going backwards, and the expensive pair opted for new pastures outside of Europe.
Neymar joined Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Hilal on a staggering £128m-a-year deal in August, while Messi teamed up with Inter Miami in the MLS.
Strike three, and Mbappe’s out.
PSG’s Galacticos II project will long be remembered as one of greatest wastes in football history. Not only did the club fork out over £800m on three players alone, they also spent £537m on just transfers fees since signing Mbappe.
The French giants made a series of questionable transfers following the arrivals of Neymar and Mbappe.
Eric Choupo-Moting’s free transfer from Stoke City in 2017 raised eyebrows – even if he went on to play an important squad role for Bayern Munich – and many fans were surprised by Idrissa Gueye’s move from Everton the following season.
Rather than partnering their stars with a dependable supporting cast, PSG targeted players who were not satisfied out of the limelight. The likes of Icardi, Keylor Navas and Sergio Ramos were not happy to sit for long periods on the bench while their extortionately-paid team-mates hogged the headlines.
Perhaps the most glaring failure from PSG’s Galacticos II project was the board’s inability to accept the inevitable. The writing was on the wall and, in many ways, Paris’ death was one by a thousand cuts.
Neymar’s acrimonious exit in 2023 did not come out of the blue. Savaged as the biggest flop in transfer history, lambasted by the French press and cursed with several significant injuries, the Brazilian’s impact at the Parc de Princes was questioned long before his lucrative contract extension in 2021.
The club ‘backed’ Neymar after he was caught punching a Rennes fan in the face in April 2019, he refused to turn up to training in the summer after being linked with a return to Barcelona and was regularly punished for diving by French officials.
As for Messi, the World Cup winner is still criticised for his time in Paris after failing to lead the club to European glory. Widely considered the greatest player of all time, Messi triumphed in the Champions League with Barcelona and marshalled Argentina to the ultimate international prize in 2022, but his impact at PSG was negligible.
Despite snapping him up on a free transfer, the Parc de Princes chiefs underestimate how long it would take Messi to adapt after leaving Barcelona.
Messi had been at the Spanish club for 21 years – becoming their all-time scorer with 682 goals – when Barcelona released a bombshell statement revealing he would not be staying at the club due to financial restrictions placed upon them by LaLiga. Failing to adapt quickly, the forward endured an early goal drought and struggled to impress fans instantly as a result.
The veteran’s unsanctioned trip to Saudi Arabia last year put a strain on his relationship with PSG and manager Galtier and all but showed his desire to leave the French outfit in the summer.
Despite serving a two-week suspension issued by the club, Messi ultimately lost the respect of PSG fans and knew a fresh start was needed away from the French capital.
With Mbappe’s inevitable departure to come in the summer, it’s back to the drawing board for PSG, who are set to rebuild with a more long-term recruitment strategy focused on youth and potential.
They say you learn more from your losses than you do from your wins. For PSG, only time will tell.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
