PSG

Amid more Champions League frustration, wealthy PSG must look to within to make the next step.

I’m still focusing on the end of the season with a lot of energy and determination.” From a more positive standpoint, Mbappé recently suggested performances will have no bearing on his future in France, with Real still courting the valuable winger ahead of a possible transfer. The club hierarchy has to reboot, from the executive level to the sporting setup, to achieve this. PSG must again take the consolation of a probable league trophy, crazy as that may sound, with the campaign in its final third. With Cristiano Ronaldo now in Saudi Arabia, high-earning strikers Messi and Mbappé are unrivaled in making millions on the continent. Apart from one thing: PSG lacks the ingredients to cap it all off and become the best in Europe.

Latest Champions League failure confirms gathering egos is no route to big trophies but maybe Qatar cares more about image and influence.

Mbappé in flight is one of the most exhilarating sights in the modern game, but he is a star who engages almost exclusively in cameos: on Wednesday he had only 33 touches. There is a sense of a profound talent being wasted – even if he has banged in hat-tricks in the past year against the full might of Metz, Clermont and Pays de Cassel. A weirdly stretched 4-4-2 in Paris was not that shape and Bayern had total control of the centre as a result but, apparently distrustful of their superiority, failed to take full advantage. Perhaps Warren Zaïre-Emery and El Chadaille Bitshiabu represent a new future but for now the only first-team regular from the capital is Mbappé, who PSG bought for a reported £160m and then, when his contract had run down, paid a further £100m as a signing-on fee. – it may be worth asking whether it’s really about the personnel. [completed easily enough](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/mar/08/bayern-munich-psg-champions-league-last-16-match-report), although a more ruthless side than Bayern might have had the tie won in the first half in Paris. A modern, multifunctional leader of the press he is not. Bayern fans displayed a banner that depicted their honorary president Uli Hoeness, middle finger of his right hand raised, left hand wielding a cleaver to lop off a forearm on which were tattooed the badge of PSG and the logo of Qatar Airways. PSG created only two decent chances: one after Yann Sommer had mysteriously decided to dribble out of his box and one a Sergio Ramos header from a corner. The 3-5-2 in the second leg at least made PSG competitive but the sense was that Bayern were quite happy to be contained. [Paris Saint-Germain](https://www.theguardian.com/football/parisstgermain), Qatar Sports Investment has spent a little over £1.5bn on players – or, to put it in terms Nicolas Sarkozy would understand, the equivalent of 16 Dassault Rafale multi-purpose fighter jets. [the first leg](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/feb/14/psg-bayern-munich-champions-league-last-16-match-report), after Kylian Mbappé had come off the bench.

No more excuses -- Paris Saint-Germain's squad has to drastically change this summer if they want to avoid more Champions League disappointment.

[Dayot Upamecano](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/222793/Dayot-Upamecano) and the Bayern defence on Wednesday. The Qataris are obviously very disappointed by the result in Munich but they have not made their mind up yet on the future of the manager. [Marco Verratti](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/134847/Marco-Verratti), on the wrong side of 30, has lost his magic. Would he be the right choice for a new cycle? He could also point to the fact that PSG finished the game with two 17-year-olds on the pitch in [Warren Zaire-Emery](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/345581/Warren-Zaire-Emery) and [El Chadaille Bitshiabu](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/304740/El-Chadaille-Bitshiabu), but Galtier will know that he bears a big part of responsibility for his side's failure. Is Galtier the right one for the job? The Frenchman has always felt like a stop-gap for another, better manager. Verratti gifted a goal to Bayern and, when a boost was needed from the bench to rescue the tie, there was hardly any talent to call upon. Already, the targets in the summer are not like the "bling bling" strategy of the past. Mbappe will be at the centre of the rebuilding job. They had the better chances -- how But [Joshua Kimmich](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/190161/Joshua-Kimmich) & Co.

Paris Saint-Germain have suffered a fifth Champions League last-16 elimination in seven seasons, underlining the fact that Nasser Al-Khelaifi's project is ...

](https://www.goal.com/en/lists/psg-player-ratings-bayern-munich-kylian-mbappe-marco-verratti/blt1ec946a127df20ad)There was no excuse for [Nasser Al-Khelaifi to go looking for the referee.](https://www.marca.com/en/football/psg/2022/03/10/62292ef646163f39888b45dd.html) There had been no contentious call. It was Al-Khelaifi himself who told L'Equipe that they had to win the European Cup within four years – back in 2014. Is it time to rip up the Paris Saint-Germain masterplan and start again?

Thierry Henry warned Paris Saint-Germain will struggle to keep Kylian Mbappe and urged the club to rethink its transfer strategy after another painful UEFA ...

For me, bring the best young French players back because a lot of them do support Paris Saint-Germain. I think it's going to be a tough one now to keep him." Maybe it can be a way – I don't think it can be a way – to keep Kylian if he sees that they're going that way.

Paris St Germain were knocked out in the Champions League last 16 for the fifth time in 12 seasons under big-spending owners Qatar Sport Investment (QSI) ...

Tonight Vitinha was not up to it at all. "If we want PSG to win the Champions League, the players have to be more invested in the club, more committed." Register for free to Reuters and know the full story

Paris Saint Germain are set to withdraw their offer of a contract renewal for Lionel Messi because their fans "will not accept him" following Wednesday's ...

It is yet to be seen how Messi will be treated on March 19 when his team hosts Rennes, and Neymar will be spared any potential bad reception given an injury that has ended his campaign three months early. "The only thing that matters to me this season is winning the championship and then we’ll see," he explained. [said](https://twitter.com/DBR8/status/1633819693478805504) on the DirectoMARCA program on Spanish radio that the Qatari-backed giants will not renew Messi because the club's fans will not accept him after the latest continental KO.