Despite investments, PSG continue to falter on the big stage

PSG once again fall short when it counts. A 3-2 loss to Liverpool is the latest example.

On its face, losing a group stage Champions League game to Liverpool is not a big deal. Liverpool made it to the final last season and sit atop the Premiere League. However, for PSG, it’s further proof that they are still not ready to compete with Europe’s top clubs.

Again, if it were any other team, perhaps the criticism would not be as harsh but with the investments made, PSG should be performing better in European competitions.

They have had some memorable results against Chelsea, Bayern Munich, and trouncing Barcelona 4-0 in Paris before blowing it in the return leg. But a few memorable wins is not enough.

The club spent €222 million to pry Neymar away from Barcelona and another €180 million to sign Kylian Mbappé. The former Monaco player was initially signed on loan so PSG could avoid any Financial Fair Play penalties.

Since Nasser Al-Khelaifi , and Qatar Sports Investment, took over, the club have spent an astonishing €1.03 billion prior to this year’s transfer window. All in an effort to bring PSG back to prominence in both France and Europe.

Players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Beckham, David Luiz, Javier Pastore, etc., the list goes on and on, have come and gone. The same can be said about their managers.

PSG have had the likes of Carlo Ancelotti, Laurent Blanc, and Unai Emery at the helm all being let go either for greener pastures, like Ancelotti, or because they failed in their quest for European success. The aforementioned collapse against Barcelona was one of the causes for Unai Emery’s downfall.

Now Thomas Tuchel has taken over and so far it’s more of the same. Tuchel may be a better manager than his predecessors but the expectations remain the same. All that matters for the ownership is winning the Champions League. Their best showing at the tournament since qualifying for it back in 2012 is quarterfinals.

Winning a domestic treble in Ligue 1 means little since PSG are expected to win those titles. It’s become almost an afterthought considering the French league is a one-team league. PSG have all the best players and the rest of the clubs cannot play catch-up. The last side to win the league, Monaco in 2016/17, have lost all their best players and there’s no one left to challenge them.

The ownership has invested heavily and tried to make the club almost a galactico-based club full of all the best players in the world. However, similar to the Real Madrid galacticos, the team has not found a way to fire on all cylinders. One of those reasons is in an effort to buy all the big names, they have overlooked areas of need like the midfield.

Their midfield against Liverpool consisted of Rabiot-Marquinhos-Di Maria. Of that midfield three, only Rabiot is a true midfielder. Marquinhos is a center-back and Di Maria is a winger. For all the money spent, the team is still forced to improvise in certain areas. The returns of Dani Alves at right-back and Marco Verratti at midfield may help but they had these players last season and still bowed in the round of 16 against Real Madrid.

Tuchel could very well have the Parisian side playing better come the knockout stage. But if PSG continue to play against top competition the way they did against Liverpool, it will be another early exit for the French giants in the Champions League.