How PSG went from comic club dubbed Hollywood FC to hungry team built on young talent facing Arsenal in Champions League
FOR years they have been the punchline to a footballing joke.The dominant force in a “farmer’s league”, a circus of a club with a Big Top full of headline acts but not even a round of applause.Paris Saint-Germain will face Arsenal in the Champions League semi-finalCredit: GettyPSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi has overseen many versions of the clubCredit: AFPStars such as Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe have all been replacedCredit: GettyAnd absolute flops when it comes to the Champions League.But having sent both Liverpool and Aston Villa packing already, Luis Enrique and his new-look PSG now have Arsenal in their sights.Mikel Arteta and his side know that they arguably face their toughest test yet on the road to Munich.Yet nobody would have said that at the start of the season. And even fewer when PSG were rolled over at The Emirates in the league stage.Indeed, the story of PSG under their Qatari owners has always been about the mis-steps and stumbles than the success.Now, though, they are on the brink of finally conquering the highest European peak, fulfilling the ambitions of club President Nasser al-Khelaifi.Sun Sport has spoken to insiders to trace the changing face of French football’s dominant force. And how the biggest potential crisis became the launchpad for rebirth and potential glory.2011 – the beginningIN 2011, PSG were not in the top TEN of all-time French clubs.JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUSThey had just two Ligue 1 titles to their name, the last of which had come 17 years earlier, were owned by a US-based investment company and had flirted with the drop to Ligue 2 twice in the previous few seasons.Hooliganism was still a curse, too. The year before the takeover, Marseille fan Yann Lorence died after spending two weeks in a coma when he was attacked by two PSG supporters, one of whom, Jeremy Banh, eventually received a five-year jail term.Heartwarming moment Matty Cash’s reporter sister tells him she loves him after Aston Villa’s PSG defeatIt meant Qatari Sports Investment’s initial purchase of 70 per cent of the club’s shares in a deal worth £60m was a major surprise, even if questions were being asked about the relationship between the governments in Paris and Doha following the controversial hosting vote for the 2022 World Cup.In came a new big boss. Nasser al-Khelaifi. The former top 100 tennis pro who was to become one of the most influential men in world football.PSG insiders recalled: “We’re talking about a club that was on the brink of relegation, nowhere near European football.“You literally had fans being killed in the stadium – the ultras killed a fan. And so they were banned for life. And it was an awful national crisis.“They were completely unsuccessful on the pitch, completely economically insignificant – and people forget that was just over 10 years ago.”2011-2016 – the “bling bling” stagePSG previously boasted stars such as David Beckham and Zlatan IbrahimovicCredit: EPACarlo Ancelotti was the manager between 2011 and 2013Credit: AFPLaurent Blanc won three consecutive titles as managerCredit: Getty – ContributorSuccess did not come instantly. Despite appointing Carlo Ancelotti before Christmas, PSG failed to lift the French title, finishing three points behind Montpellier.Not good enough and the summer of 2012 saw the chequebook out.That season saw the arrivals of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with David Beckham arriving in January, plus South American superstars Ezequiel Lavezzi, Thiago Silva, Lucas Moira and others.It was a deliberate strategy. One of those closest to the heart of the club explained: “You have to go through the bling bling stage.“Just like when you launch a product, you have to overspend, over the market price, to get some market share.“If you’re launching a new sofa brand or a new TV brand, if you’re taking on Samsung, you’ve got to flood the market with your product, bring in a load of influence and brands to raise awareness about why you’re better.“So you overpay people and lose money, and it’s investment to then make money in the long term.“That’s where PSG went, that’s the cycle they’ve been on. So it was why they signed Beckham, Zlatan and others.“Then, over time, you look towards financial stability and a more proportionate business model.“You have to go through those phases just like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Man United, Chelsea, City all did.“They’ve all gone through the same business model as you have to if you want to go from zero to hero.”The titles started to come, even if Ancelotti hopped off to Real Madrid, replaced by Laurent Blanc.But so did the problems off the pitch.One well-placed source recalled: “The club pandered to the players and allowed them to have the control.“Signing Beckham summed it up. There was a feeling that they had to go and get the biggest names available, to make some sort of history.”2016-2023 – the Hollywood eraThe club failed to win the Champions League with one of the most sought-after attacksCredit: APMbappe left for free to join Real Madrid last summerCredit: GettyMessi also left as a free agent and is now in the MLSCredit: AlamyFour successive Ligue 1 crowns, three under Blanc, might have looked like success. But PSG were just the gigantic fish in a small pond. The Champions League was what mattered.Ambition was clear in the choice of managers asked to take PSG to the European elite.Engaging Unai Emery, Thomas Tuchel and then Mauricio Pochettino was designed to signal that dominating Ligue 1 was now expected. It was about conquering Europe.But that meant dominating the transfer market, too.And that was where the issues began.From 2017, when Neymar joined from Barcelona, swiftly followed by Kylian Mbappe – just a small matter of £367m between them – the conveyor belt did not seem to stop.Top of the tree, without question, was the capture of Lionel Messi in 2021, when cash-strapped Barcelona could not afford to keep him.From the inner sanctum, there are still no regrets: “Everyone focused on Messi. Messi was a free transfer and made the club money.“And on the pitch, it’s easy when you don’t win the Champions League that’s it’s assumed to be a failure. Actually, his statistics were very, very good.“But that phase of bling bling went on for too long.”Despite their credentials, manager after manager was undermined from within.A close advisor to one of them agreed: “There’s nothing wrong with spending money on players. Indeed signing Messi was basically printing money from shirt sales“But for too long it was just about the big names – they turned into a French version of FC Hollywood.“They weren’t buying players to fit the team, just commercial players. PSG were opening shops in London and New York and needed to have the big names so they could sell shirts.“If you had Neymar, Mbappe and Messi in the same team that meant you only had seven players prepared to run for the rest of the team.“And every time it was left to the manager to pick up the pieces.”It was not just those three, either. In 2021, following another Champions League near-miss when they were beaten by Manchester City in the semi-finals, PSG took veteran defender Sergio Ramos – despite his decade-long personal problems with Messi.There was also dressing room disquiet over the hierarchy’s decision to bring in Italian keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, forcing out popular Keylor Navas.By 2023, it was eight Ligue 1 crowns out of 10 plus a bucketload of domestic cups. But still no Champions League titles.2023 onwards – new model, new horizonsThe last couple of years has seen the club become a teamCredit: GettyBradley Barcola is one of the many young talents in the squadCredit: ReutersKhvicha Kvaratskhelia was one expensive signing from NapoliCredit: GettySometimes it takes facing a nightmare to make the changes needed.And when Mbappe made clear he was going to see out his contract and force through a free transfer to Real Madrid, it was PSG’s lightbulb moment.Listening to al-Khelaifi now, it was all planned: “The five‐year plan was a mistake, I openly admit that. But we learn from our mistakes.“The new superstar of Paris Saint-Germain is the team, but we also have a lot of stars.“What is different today is that we have a strong collective on the pitch, and a strong and supportive institution off the pitch.“We also think in the short, medium and long term, and we don’t just look in front of our noses and react impulsively and emotionally to everything.”Or, perhaps, it was of necessity. The senior figure added: “A line was drawn when Messi was on a trip with his wife to Saudi Arabia rather than training. He got banned for two games.“That was a huge moment, a huge statement.“Then Mbappe was dropped and shown that the institution is stronger and more important than the individual.“Now we have the youngest team in the last eight of the Champions League and the third youngest in the entire competition.“The new training centre is a £300m process, about capturing French talent. Not buying in talent, but building it. That’s very much the future of the club and hopefully it will work.”There was, he admitted, a “little wobble” in the autumn.Ousmane Dembele was excluded from the squad for the league stage trip to Arsenal after Luis Enrique stated he “did not comply with the obligations of the team”.A 2-0 defeat in which the French champions rarely threatened was followed by losses to Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich, with PSG facing early elimination, especially when they trailed Manchester City 2-0 at home after 53 minutes of their penultimate match.But four goals in 37 minutes, with Dembele outstanding, transformed the picture, meaning there was no panicky transfer splurge in January.The former Barcelona man’s response to his public shaming was remarkable, scoring 18 in a 10-game streak from mid-December and then six in six including the winner at Anfield.That the changes are real is clear, too, even if the £70m splashed out to land Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia from Napoli was hardly done on the cheap.Dembele, Willian Pacho, Bradley Barcola, Desire Doue and Warren Zaire-Emery are the new faces of PSG.The managerial aide agreed: “What they are doing now is what they promised all the previous managers they would do – and never did!“Now the club is building a young team, a hungry team.”And one that, this time, really might be good enough to lift the biggest prize. Although Arteta and his Gunners will be thinking otherwise.Join SUN CLUB for the Arsenal Files every Friday plusin-depth coverage and exclusives from The Emirates More
