For over ten years, Paris Saint-Germain’s Qatari owners have spent a lot of money to attract top stars. They aimed to make the club successful, improve its image, and build a strong team that could win the Champions League.
With record revenues exceeding 800 million euros ($890 million) last year, they have achieved significant growth.
They also managed to improve the atmosphere at their stadium, the Parc des Princes, by reducing the violence that used to make it tense and unfriendly.
Additionally, they brought major players to Paris, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappé, who occasionally showed that winning Europe’s top tournament was possible.
However, the Champions League title has remained out of reach. Now that these superstars have left the Parc des Princes, it might seem surprising, but the club could be in a better position to achieve European success.
“The coach is leading us more and more towards his philosophy, it’s more and more soccer based on a collective philosophy. We’re moving in that direction,” PSG captain Marquinhos said on Tuesday. “Even if there are not any big names or stars, we are ready to go for big achievements.”
After Messi moved to Inter Miami and Neymar to Saudi Arabian team Al-Hilal in previous years, and with Mbappé’s recent move to Real Madrid, marks the end of an era at PSG where the focus was on big-name players and spending a lot of money since the Qatari takeover in 2011.
Instead of bringing in another superstar to fill Mbappé’s spot, coach Luis Enrique is focusing on developing the current squad.
Enrique believes that while Mbappé’s unique skills can’t be replaced, the team can be made strong with several attacking players who can score as much, or even more than Mbappé did.
“To me, this is the continuation of last season,” said Enrique, who has used 21 players in four French league games so far. “We are a young team, that is true. But we are full of desire and hunger, which is a wonderful thing. I’m so lucky to have this sort of squad.”
Enrique asked for the signing of lesser-known but skilled players in each position to create competition and provide backup options. This could be especially important this season with the Champions League’s new format, which means more teams and more games.
PSG will begin their campaign on Wednesday against the Spanish team Girona. PSG brought in goalkeeper Matvey Safonov, highly regarded defender Willian Pacho, promising midfielder João Neves, and winger Désiré Doué.
Pacho performed well at Eintracht Frankfurt, and the versatile Neves has already played for Portugal 11 times at just 19 years old.
Pacho and Neves have quickly settled in with the team, and the new-look PSG has made an immediate impact. They have won their first four games and are currently leading the Ligue 1 standings.
“PSG is way stronger collectively than last year, everybody runs and defends,” Brest coach Eric Roy said after his team lost 3-1 to the French champions over the weekend. “Especially when they lose the ball, they put a lot of pressure.”
The main question for this season was whether PSG could maintain a strong attack without its top player. With quick and powerful players like Ousmane Dembélé and Badley Barcola on the wings, and Marco Asensio playing as a false No. 9, PSG seems to have found a good solution.
The team has scored 16 goals and conceded just three, having the best goal difference after four Ligue 1 matches since Reims in 1952. Only Marseille forward Mason Greenwood has more goals than Barcola and Dembélé, while João Neves leads the league with three assists.
Despite PSG’s dominance in the French league, having won it 10 times in the last 12 seasons, they have only reached one Champions League final since being bought by Qatar Sports Investments. It’s no surprise Enrique doesn’t want to get too excited.
When asked about the perceived improvement, he said, “We will see at the end of the season what the team has achieved.”
