Will PSG Be Relevant With Mbappé Gone?
What does an Mbappé-less future look like for Paris Saint-Germain?
This summer, the Hollywood FC era at Paris Saint-Germain will officially end. It's been a good run, though. We experienced Lionel Messi being suspended for traveling to Saudi Arabia, Kylian Mbappé being benched for not signing a new contract, and Neymar Jr.’s late-night McDonald’s runs.
What a long, strange trip it’s been the past seven years, but all of that is soon to be in the past with Messi walking around the pitch at Inter Miami, Neymar rehabbing in Saudi Arabia, and Mbappé soon joining the club he supported as a child, AC Milan Real Madrid.
So, what does the future look like for Paris Saint-Germain? The panel over at ESPN FC recently pondered whether PSG would remain relevant without Mbappé and said they’d continue to dominate Ligue 1, but it would be hard to see them win a UEFA Champions League title as currently constructed.
There will be a lot of doom and gloom from pundits in the coming months regarding PSG. In a little more than a year, they would have lost three of the most recognizable footballers on the planet. The experts don’t watch PSG on a regular basis and only know these names, so without them, they understandably predict they will struggle and drop out of relevance. They don’t know who Bradley Barcola is. They don’t know how good Xavi Simons is. They’re not watching 17-year-old Warren Zaïre-Emery win Man of the Match honors in the Champions League. They don’t know that in Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes, PSG have arguably the best full-back tandem in Europe. I could go on and on about the talent in this PSG squad and with Mbappé departing, PSG has the funds to sign multiple star players this summer.
There are two ways PSG will remain relevant. The first is via the transfer market. Due to their financial advantage, PSG will be linked with every top player, whether they’re actually interested or not. We’ve seen this over the years. PSG is mentioned as a potential landing spot for a player, and then the player gets a new lucrative contract from their current club, or it generates offers from other clubs. It’s all a game, and it keeps PSG in the headlines.
The other way PSG will remain relevant is if they win in the Champions League. They should have a squad next season capable of reaching the knockout stage, at the very least. You could argue the squad will be more balanced and more receptive to Luis Enrique’s coaching. When you’re entire gameplan centers around one player and what they’re able to do individually, that can stunt the growth of the team. With Mbappé gone, Luis Enrique can adjust his tactics to create team-scoring chances instead of relying on the Frenchman to do it all.
It’s true that with Mbappé gone, PSG will lack a global superstar in its ranks. So, will they be relevant to shows like ESPN FC and others? Probably not. You’ll only hear or read about them in major outlets and publications when they play in the Champions League. However, Simons, Zaïre-Emery, and Barcola are all budding stars and will not only contribute at PSG, but they are likely the future of the Netherlands and France national teams, respectively.
Ultimately, it comes down to winning at PSG and playing attractive football. There will be a lot less noise and pressure from the media with Mbappé gone, so it stands to reason that PSG could be even more successful without Mbappé than with him. And if the club somehow wins a Champions League title before Mbappé at Real Madrid, I guarantee that story will make headlines around the world.