Who could have imagined that Paris Saint-Germain would be knocked out of the UEFA Champions League in the Round of 16, Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos, Achraf Hakimi, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Georginio Wijnaldum – after signing their Galacticos signings, but it was only 13 times. Happened as UCL champions Real Madrid knocked him out.
PSG president Nasser Al Khelefi and sporting director Leonardo Araujo assembled one of the most prolific trios in football history with Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, but it was badly hit in the first season due to major technical flaws in the club’s playing style. have failed. The French giants have turned into European powerhouses by dominating Ligue 1 over the past decade but the Champions League trophy remains a dream come true for them. Seeking to get their hands on the elusive trophy, PSG signed Neymar and Mbappe in the same transfer window in 2017, the best they were able to do with them was to reach the final in 2020 where Thomas Tuchel men were defeated by Bayern. Munich had to face defeat. , The club parted ways with Tuchel the next season and signed Mauricio Pochettino as a manager to unlock his greatest achievement. Pochettino, who replaced Tottenham Hotspur during his stint in London, failed to make any major impact in his first season in Paris.
In 2021, The Les Parisiens signed arguably the greatest football player of all time – Messi, whose contract extension with Barcelona was halted at the last minute due to the Catalan giants’ financial woes. Messi joined PSG after guiding Argentina to their first major international trophy in 28 years – the Copa America. Argentina were in ninth heaven and the football world predicted that PSG’s wait for the UCL Trophy would finally end with the arrival of Messi. Unfortunately for PSG things did not go well for them. But is it only Messi’s fault that PSG failed to capture European glory?
The 34-year-old has set a benchmark for himself that no one dares to compare him to. His start with PSG has not been the best so far this season with only 2 league goals and after his exit from UCL, PSG ultras mocked the football great during their clash against Bordeaux. Football fans around the world were not happy with the welcome Messi received against Bordeaux but it was not entirely wrong. When you signed Messi everyone expected something special from your team and Messi failed to deliver, however, it was not entirely his fault that PSG faced against Real Madrid. The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner was the heart and soul of the Barcelona team as the entire game structure revolved around the little magician there. Messi won all trophies there, from La Liga to the Champions League, and after the departure of many stars such as Xavi, Iniesta, Neymar and Luis Suarez, he led the club on his own and made them relevant in European football. His first year at PSG has not been the same, with his style of play nowhere matching the way Barcelona play an elegant, passing and possession-based football where Messi excelled in every aspect. He scored 5 goals in PSG’s short UCL campaign and was nowhere near what everyone expected him to produce.
PSG and Pochettino failed to take advantage of Messi being in their team. He has been heavily criticized this season for walking on pitches occupied by the opposition. Argentina has played like this throughout their football career and it is very difficult to convert it in just one season. With his joining the club, many predicted that Pochettino would change the playing style, but he did not do so because Messi and Neymar were working less without the ball than others, as the team looked disorganized on the pitch. Was.
Despite being a better side on paper in the French league, PSG suffered losses to Nantes, Nice and Rennes this season and also played some heavy draws for Marseille and Lyon. In the Champions League, PSG lost to Manchester City (1–2) and were drawn to Club Brugge (1–1). All these things happened before the match against Real Madrid but Pochettino failed to resolve the issue. The Argentine did not manage megastars like Messi, Neymar and Mbappe in his career, leading to a major collapse. The 50-year-old is probably not the best suit for PSG which the club should have realized last season when PSG failed to win the Ligue 1 title.
Looking at the other signings, Ramos’ arrival at Le Parc des Princes has been a nightmare for both the player and the club. The aging superstar has been ruled out of almost 80 percent of matches so far this season due to injury. Ramos left Real Madrid with a challenging legacy full of trophies but nothing has worked out well for him at PSG and the club could show him a way out next season if reports are to be believed.
Hakimi and Donnarumma were two young players who joined PSG as future prospects. Both proved their worth in Serie A for Milan clubs. However, they both spent an unforgettable night at the Santiago Bernabeu, notably Donnarumma who taunts as the main culprit for Karim Benzema, who scored the third goal that knocked PSG out of UCL. It is too early to judge both as they have extended their age to prove their critics wrong.
Ginny Wijnaldum chose PSG over Barcelona because he felt Pochettino had a vision for him in a team full of stars. The Netherlands midfielder arrived at the club to taste success in Liverpool. But he failed to impress the manager at PSG as Pochettino has been starting with other midfielders above him so far this season.
The five contracts were a big boost for PSG, who already had players such as Neymar, Mbappe, Marco Verratti, Angel Di Maria, Mauro Icardi, Marquinhos and Keylor Navas in their ranks. He formed a team of Galacticos in an attempt to replicate Real Madrid’s formula and was eventually knocked out by them.
In the clash against Madrid, it was Marquinhos and his defending partner Presnel Kimpembe, mediocre against the likes of Karim Benzema and Luka Modric, to reverse the 0–2 deficit in the second half of the tie to 3–2. ran the show.
PSG are currently at the top of the Ligue 1 table with a healthy 15-point lead and are expected to lift the trophy but their dream of lifting the UCL title is over and things are going to get tougher for the club with Mbappe at the end of the season. Huh. ready to leave them. The French superstar’s contract with the French giants will expire after this season and Real Madrid are eyeing what is also their dream club. He publicly stated earlier this season that he had asked PSG to let him go and join Los Blancos, but the club did not want to lose their star players. Madrid offered him around $150 million to sign the 23-year-old, but the PSG president declined the offer and now eventually Mbappe will leave PSG for free, leaving Messi and Neymar in a mess. Which they will have to clean up next season if both stay. , Pochettino is also expected to leave the club next season and PSG will have to make some major changes to the squad to fulfill his UCL dream, but for that, he will have to build his style around Messi as his line-up. It is important to establish a plan with him in the insight otherwise things are going to turn upside down which happened this season.
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