What is wrong with PSG (Paris Saint-Germain) this season?

After signing Messi, Donnarumma, Hakimi, Wijnaldum, and Sergio Ramos, the Paris Saint-Germain football club is still unable to win the Champions League. Let’s take a look at what’s wrong with PSG this season.

PSG has shown some impressive football to the world since the 2016–17 season of the UEFA Champions League, yet they cannot get their hands on the Champions League trophy. PSG fans have high hopes for European glory every season, but unfortunately, the results are same season after season.

This year they signed some footballing Giants as Nasser Al-Khelaifi (The president of PSG) desperately wants his team to be crowned European champions. They were most favorites to win this year’s Champions League, but the French side wasn’t even able to get to the quarter-finals of UCL.

PSG results in the Champions League show they are consistently unstuck, bottling up a 4–0 goal advantage against FC Barcelona in the 16–17 season, then a two-leg defeat against Real Madrid in 17–18. They lost in the round of 16 against Manchester United at home in the 18–19 season; after this, they have managed to book their seat in finals against Bayern Munich in 19–20 season.

But the curse struck again. They were defeated by 1–0 in the finals. Last year PSG was the favorite again and expected to win it, but again they were eliminated by Manchester City in the semis. This year the club owners had some different plans in their mind; they wanted to make this PSG squad marketable and attractive, so they signed a magnificent five-man roster that includes Messi and Ramos.

The club spent 94 million dollars on last summer’s transfers, intending to win the Champions League because PSG was already performing great domestically. They win the Ligue 1 every year with matches remaining, but they struggle when it comes to UEFA tournaments.

Every year they are compelling in the first leg before buckling in the second leg. Once they start conceding goals, they are consistently unable to pick up the team and defend again, as this year, they conceded three goals in sixteen minutes against Real Madrid. There are some internal reasons for PSG’s failure to win the Champions League; now, let’s read what these problems are.

False Transfers

Both players and coaches at PSG need to take their share of responsibility, PSG has changed coaches and recruited players, but still, it is not working. One of the key reasons behind it is that PSG signs players without considering the player’s sports influence on the team or how the player will fulfill the role where the player will be delivering his services.

This season two of PSG’s main signings don’t make any sense, Ramos and Wijnaldum. This is illogical if a team lets go a CB like Thiago Silva just because he is too old and then signs Sergio Ramos, who is also 36 years old. PSG’s midfield is quite powerful, especially with Verratti and Idrissa Gueye, but they have signed Wijnaldum for the bench, a functional attacking and linking player. His performance under Jurgen Klopp was incredible, but we haven’t seen much from the Dutch midfield under Pochettino’s guidance.

Misunderstanding

Another factor contributing to PSG’s failure could be a “lack of understanding” between coach and players. Individually, PSG players are dominant, but as a club, we have not seen any managerial combinations or approaches that may transform the ambiance of their game once they are losing. It’s not that PSG has too many superstars in one spot, which is producing chemistry play-building issues.

Consider Barcelona in 2009, 2011, and 2015, when they had numerous stars in their starting eleven, and Real Madrid from 2014 to 2018, when both clubs won the Champions League in their heyday. PSG results from this season have been confusing, as they beat Real Madrid at home while losing to Nonce a week later.

Neymar Messi Combo

This season has highlighted Messi and Neymar’s inability to make things count together as they did at Barcelona. This season, both South Americans did not impress much, and the expectations were dashed. It is understandable that starting in a new country or new league was difficult for Messi after a forced exit from Barcelona, things get tough when you change your surroundings after years like this.

But as time passed, it became clear that Messi’s magic had faded since he left FC Barcelona; he is playing with a lack of passion and no desires, and it feels like he is no longer on the field. Neymar has also displayed many signs of change in his attitude. His on-field performance and numbers this season speak for themselves. Neymar has only four goals and five assists in nineteen games, which is his worst figure since he has arrived in Europe.

Against Real Madrid, they really needed their two stars, Messi and Neymar, to step up and change things but again, both of them went missing, and Mbappe remained alone to salvage their hopes and he scored twice against Real Madrid.

Brand Marketing

PSG is the world’s coolest football brand; you say they have celebrities playing for them, which is not bad, but branding rather than footballing operations is bad for outcomes. PSG is suffering from identity crises as the club seems more focused on brand marketing of merch and players.

Recent analyses have shown that off-field activities are affecting their on-field performances negatively. The club has always prioritized the image first, which has resulted in numerous defeats.

Opinion

PSG needs a good coach who understands player relationships, has faith in the club’s academy products, can recruit players on the basis of the team’s required positions, and can quickly respond to situations where players aren’t able to.

Then PSG will eventually develop over time, Messi still has another season left, and Neymar is tied with the club until 2025. We can still consider PSG as a Champions League contender if they sign a good coach for the upcoming season.