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The concept of buying titles began filtering the European football landscape when Russian billionaire, Roman Abramovich first bought Chelsea in 2003. It was evident that a new financial power was on the scene when The Blues began competing for the top players and became a viable option for the best talents and coaches. A disruption to the duopoly between Manchester United and Arsenal ensued. Although the Gunners went on to attain immortality that season-- winning the league without a single defeat, Chelsea went on to kick-start a period of colossal success that saw them win every trophy on offer both home and abroad.
Currently, the English game is reeling off the imperial dominance of another team bankrolled by oil-rich owners with deep pockets. Manchester City have now won the treble, the domestic treble and six Premier League titles in the last seven seasons. Pep Guardiola's men have become the standard in England and a team to be feared in Europe, and there are no signs they are letting up any time soon.
However, there is another oil—rich backed project over in France. These owners have deeper pockets than the two mentioned above and are not afraid to spend it. The European transfer market landscape has changed in the last few years since these financial muscles came on board. The traditional order of history, fan base and on-the-pitch success which were some key factors in the financial strength of the “traditional big clubs” such as Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona, have been challenged. However, Paris Saint Germain's project has been largely unsuccessful.
The Al-Khelaifi-led club adopted the strategy of signing every superstar available to create a strong team that could compete in Europe, granted that Ligue 1 was a basic requirement for each given season. They have sanctioned deals for household names like Zlatan Ibrahimović, Edison Cavani, Thiago Silva, Sergio Ramos, Angel Dimaria, Maxwell, Neymar, Mbappé, Mauro Icardi and Lionel Messi, among others. The roll call of high-level coaches they have worked with includes Carlo Ancelotti – the record man, Unai Emery-- a serial European title winner and Thomas Tuchel, who got them to their first final. The UEFA Champions League has refused to come to Paris.
When Le Parisians sanctioned a €200 million deal for Neymar back in 2017 along with a big money coup bringing Kylian Mbappé in from AS Monaco, the thought was that they were ready to stage the biggest assault on the Holy Grail. A few impurities were not taken care of in team building and that bid collapsed early. That PSG has gone beyond the quarter-final stage of the Champions League just twice since the Qataris took over is damning evidence that the decision to focus on talent fishing and not team building has failed colossally. The drill has been clear to every coach who has worked in that time. Dominance in Ligue 1 is supposed to be a given. Competing against the best teams in Europe and going deep into the competition is the target. Winning the trophy is the obsession.
Unfortunately, even the requirement of being dominant domestically has been challenged a couple of times by teams on a fraction of PSG's budget. This has led to sackings, of course, but the remedy usually preferred is to sign more big names and get a new manager in to figure it out. There has clearly been no real process and direction to the recruitment at the Paris club. The money is there to spend and the coach, whoever is selected, must find the balance. Unfortunately, the UEFA Financial Fair Play policy has shown that this model is unsustainable and now PSG are in a situation where they have to recoup money to build their squad.
Luis Campos, a revered sporting director in the game, has been working on strategies to build a proper team in Paris and has been working with the club chairman to redirect the club's approach and philosophy. There is now an active drive to build a team and not just have a collection of big earners who wilt in the key moments. It is a process that has flickered the flames of embarrassing maneuvers between the club and one of the key players in France's forward, Kylian Mbappé. Throughout this summer alone, a lot of top figures have left the PSG dressing room, having been told unequivocally they are no longer needed.
It was difficult to believe the team the new manager, Luis Enrique, put out on Saturday night against L'Orient in their Ligue 1 opener at the Parc des Princes. A team playing without any of their superstar names apart from Gianluigi Donnarumma and Achraf Hakimi. The summer has been low-key and fraught with the Mbappé saga, who appears to be angling for a move away from the club, while Neymar looks set to jet off to the Saudi league. Messi has moved to the Major League Soccer in the US, while Ramos and Veratti have been encouraged to leave. Maquinhos was on the bench too.
It is clear that PSG now appears prepared to go through the normal route. It is not as though City and Chelsea have not spent big budgets over the years en route to their successes. Like PSG, Chelsea has been through a good number of big–name managers as well. However, there is an element of planning about what the English sides have done. Moreover, there are strong academy structures to what they are doing. In Chelsea's recent Champions League triumph, they had three academy products in their team Reece James, Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham. City had Phil Foden playing a key role in the team that beat Inter Milan in the final last season. PSG has, however, relied heavily on the big players who, most times, arrive at their peak going on the decline.
Now, they are trying to do it differently. There is no guarantee that they win the big prize. Yet, they must begin to look towards sustainability, both on a financial and sporting level. The best teams have real structures behind them. They are not just fickle figments of the imaginations of a group of owners. And, the results are not instant, either. It's painstaking.
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