Are PSG just flat-track bullies?
On paper, they are one of the top sides in world football, but PSG just don’t seem able to bring this form to the world stage, and this was once again the case when they played Liverpool on Tuesday night in the Champions League.
In 2011, PSG were taken over by Qatar Sports Investments, a takeover that made them one of the richest sides in Europe. In the years since, they have dominated French football, but have never achieved success in the Champions League, even though that has been their prime ambition.
The owners will be pleased with the consistent success in Ligue 1, but given the constant chopping and changing of managers, that this summer saw Thomas Tuchel step into the hot seat, they clearly want more. That more, is clearly the Champions League.
However, that success hasn’t been forthcoming, as they have never really mounted a serious challenge for Europe’s top prize over the last couple of years. They have been the best side in French football, with the exception of the 2016/17 season, but with all due respect, Ligue 1 is the weakest of the big five European leagues.
In each of the last two seasons, they have been knocked out in the Round of 16 in the Champions League. Last season, they were comfortably beaten by eventual winners Real Madrid, and the previous season, they suffered a rather embarrassing collapse at the hands of Barcelona, somehow blowing a 4-0 first leg lead.
For a team who have spent so much money in recent years, this simply isn’t good enough. Last summer they went on a quite remarkable spending spree, breaking the world record with a £200 million move for Neymar, and following this up by agreeing a deal to sign Kylian Mbappe from Monaco this year for around £160 million, after an initial loan spell.
This hasn’t really improved things though, and you get a feeling the problems lay deeper. The owners may be desperate to win the Champions League, but this attitude and desire does not seem to run throughout the club, and it doesn’t seem to exist amongst the players.
The front three of Neymar, Mbappe and Edinson Cavani should be one of the best in Europe, but it just doesn’t seem like they want it enough. They may be magnificent in the final third, but when the going gets tough, they vanish.
You rarely see them doing the work they need for the team, and even when they do get into defensive positions, their heart just doesn’t seem to be in it. This attitude almost existed throughout the side against Liverpool. They were sluggish and laboured, and just didn’t seem too interested. This was a chance for them to make a real statement at the start of their Champions League campaign, but they didn’t take it.
It feels like this is a side full of egos. Neymar has constantly squabbled with his teammates and his managers since moving to Paris, and it feels like he left Barcelona for all the wrong reasons, and people usually say he was inspired by money. He said he wanted to win the Ballon d’Or when he moved to PSG, but he has never been further away.
You get the feeling that there has to be a serious change in the mindset at PSG, from almost everyone at the club. It can no longer be about signing superstars, it has to be about finding players who have that desire to be the best they can be, because of the current crop, not enough of them do.