Qatar Sport Investment acquired a 70% stake of PSG Paris Saint-Germain in 2011, appointing Nasser Al Khelaifi as the club president who will then become the club sole owner a year later.
The club would not enjoy success straight away until two years after the take over when they were crowned Ligue 1 champions in 2013. They will then go on to become Ligue 1 champions nine times but a major desire in which as lead the club to invest major funds in players is yet to be reached – Winning the UEFA champions league.
In the summer of 2017, PSG will go all out to acquire one of Europe’s best player – Neymar Jr coupled with a loan move for one of the most promising youngster – Kylian Mbappe.
The move for Neymar Jr. was a record breaking transfer fee in football’s history, a total package of €222 million was paid to bring the Brazilian winger to France. He signed a five year deal worth €500k per week.
A year later the club will then make Kylian Mbappe transfer permanent in another expensive deal worth €180 million making him the second most expensive transfer coming after Neymar Jr.
After losing the UEFA Champions League final to Bundesliga giant – FC Bayern Munich in 2020, in a bid to bring them closer to their target, PSG will make another round of investment in 2021 signing one of the best player in the history of the sport – Lionel Messi from Barcelona on a free transfer.
The summer also saw the arrival of four-time Champions league winner in person of Sergio Ramos, one time champion league winner with Liverpool – Georginio Wijnaldum and Italian goalkeeper – Gianluigi Donnarumma who had just won the Euros with his country putting in a spectacular performance in the final against England (all three coming in on a free transfer).
Inter Milan Right back – Achraf Hakimi also made a switch to the French side in a deal of around €68m and Portuguese midfielder – Danilo Pereira was acquired from FC Porto too, all in one transfer window.
Despite huge investment in players, the french club have failed to land their most desired target. They even failed woefully compared to years past, before their fantasy summer.
What exactly went wrong for PSG Paris Saint-Germain?
Why can’t the dominant club in France win the most prestigious trophy in European club football despite having all the possible resources, unlimited funds and a lot of superstars?
A long look into the history of the club since the Qataris took over shows a compromising data of lack patience. After taking over the club in June 2011, Nasser Al Khelaifi will make a managerial change after just six months in charge, Antoine Kombouaré was be replaced by Carlo Ancelotti who was sacked by Chelsea after just delivering the Premier League and FA cup trophies.
Ancelotti won PSG their first Ligue 1 title under the QSI administration in the 2012/2013 season. His time at the French club won’t go on after that season following a disagreement with the club, the club went on to hire Laurent Blanc who won back-to-back league titles but couldn’t make it past the quarter finals of the Champions League after crashing out to both Chelsea and Manchester City.
Blanc was replaced by two times UEFA Europa League winner in Unai Emery. Unai Emery, just like his predecessors, dominated domestic competition but didn’t enjoy much success in Europe.
The historic ramontada happened under his watch as they surrendered a 4-0 first-leg win over Barcelona to crash out 6-5 on aggregate in the 2016-17 Champions League round of 16.A year after the humbling, his PSG side was again knocked out in the round of 16 by eventual winner Real Madrid, and that was the last straw for the Spaniard, as he was replaced by Thomas Tuchel in 2018.
Former Borussia Dortmund manager, Thomas Tuchel signed a two years contract with Les Parisiens. After getting knocked out in the round of 16 of the champions league in his first season, his second attempt was much better as he reached the final in Lisbon.
PSG went on to lose narrowly to Bayern Munich in the final in what also happens to be the club’s first-ever UEFA Champions League final appearance.Again, despite been a step away from reaching the goal, the dream was shattered by their former Academy product, Kingsley Coman, whose lone goal delivered the title for Bayern Munich.
Five months after reaching the final, Paris Saint-Germain parted ways with Thomas Tuchel, who was on a poor run in the league, leaving them in third, behind Lyon and Ligue 1 winner for that season Lille.
Although top of their UEFA Champions League group, Tuchel went on to secure a move to Chelsea midway through that campaign, and finished it with the UEFA Champions League title, something PSG has always craved for.
After Tuchel, an ambitious PSG appointed former Tottenham boss – Mauricio Pochettino. Pochettino, who had taken a not so good Tottenham Hotspurs to the Champions League final in 2019, which he eventually lost was keen to go one better with stacked PSG team.
Unfortunately, it didn’t quite go well for him as the Argentine couldn’t go past the semi-final stage, where they lost to Manchester City, who become the losing finalist having lost to Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea in the final.
The end of the season, in which came their fantasy summer that saw the arrival of superstars like Lionel Messi, but they never made it past the round of 16, even with Christopher Glatier, who later replaced Pochettino for the 2022-23 season.
Galtier did not last more than a season and was replaced by former Barcelona manager – Luis Enrique. In all of these appointments and investments, PSG Paris Saint-Germain has only made it to the the semi final stage thrice and once the final since the Qatar take over. The impatience with players and managers has brought them farther from their desire than closer.
A process getting restarted over and over again has put the club’s huge investment into ruins. A build with enough stability would have made their dream achievable, using Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City as a case study.
It took them seven years to get what they want and they eventually got it because of it patience and stability over the years. With Enrique taking them to the semi-final in his first season, he will face a turbulent second year as he’s set to lose one the best player in the world in Kylian Mbappé this summer, their goal will take a massive hit but with their financial stability, they can make up for the loss.
Not only down to individual but a collective effort, with an experienced and successful manager like Luis Enrique, it may take time but PSG will be where they’ve always want to be.
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