En winning, without much joy, their eleventh title of champion of France – the ninth out of the twelve years of the Qatari era –, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) only ensured the minimum expected at the end of one of his worst seasons of this era, marked by another early elimination in the Champions League.
For the umpteenth time, the club must reinvent itself, in which it has so far failed. The reconstruction envisaged, last year, around Kylian Mbappé resulted in the player’s disillusioned comment after the defeat against Clermont-Ferrand (2-3), Saturday June 3: “The club is doing what it can. I’m happy with what the club does. »
The promises of a cultural revolution still made last summer by the president, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi (“We no longer want flashy, bling-bling, it’s the end of glitter”), were only the echo of remarks made in 2016 (” Today, [on a besoin] of players ready to die for the club and for this shirt”), or 2019 (“I don’t want to see any more star behavior”).
The stars are fading
However, this manager has never given up on his casting policy, which has certainly contributed to the strong economic valuation of the club, but whose sporting failure is illustrated this season by the umpteenth long unavailability of Neymar, the limited contribution of Sergio Ramos and the doldrums surrounding Lionel Messi.
Still whistled on Saturday evening at the Parc des Princes, the Argentinian has regained his formidable footing after a mediocre first season, but his lack of investment has fueled frustrations. The trace he leaves in Paris is insignificant, his stay having mainly had the interest, for him, of a long training camp for the 2022 World Cup.
The doubts raised by Christophe Galtier’s fragile coaching status have been confirmed: he has not been able to discipline his group into a team. PSG is a club in which the stars wither, in which the very good players, like Nuno Mendes, do not progress, where most recruits disappoint and where, even, the pillars Marquinhos and Marco Verratti are put in the hot seat. .
The Qatar Islamic Bank’s bid to buy Manchester United casts doubt on the future priorities of the emirate’s sports diplomacy? We are not there yet: the club, which will inaugurate its training center in Poissy, in the Yvelines, is looking for investors to enter the capital, and which wishes to evolve in a larger stadium, is watching for clubs to acquire in Europe to make it its subsidiaries.
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