eliminated from C1, PSG is already looking towards the post-Mbappé era

After eliminations in the round of 16 in the previous two editions, this new outing, against an opponent well within range, is another disappointment, but it will not necessarily be seen as a major failure by a club that this season had a new one. coach, a new playing philosophy and a renewed squad.

Obsessed with the Champions League since their arrival in 2011, Qatari leaders have reiterated since last summer that C1 was not the goal for the 2023-24 season, rather a “transition”.

But the mild draw (Barcelona then Dortmund in the semi-finals when Manchester City and Real Madrid were in the other part of the table) and the good results achieved by the Spanish coach Luis Enrique (27 matches without defeat before the first-half loss to Barça) have moved the goals upwards.

Luis Enrique also reiterated that he was “preparing for next season”, without Mbappé, and that his team would certainly be “much better” in 2024-25. Since the Blues captain announced to his managers that he would be leaving Paris at the end of the season, the coach has regularly replaced him during games or benched him at kick-off.

Although PSG are still on course for a double (Coupe de France, Ligue 1), managers and staff now have plenty of time to look ahead to the 2024-25 financial year.

– Luis Enrique “has the keys” –
Internally, we have been saying it for months: Paris did not wait for confirmation of Mbappé’s departure to explore the future.

PSG officials have been busy brainstorming since receiving the striker’s letter last summer, which warned them of his desire not to activate the extension clause in his contract.

The equation is complex: Mbappé, pledged to Real Madrid, is a global superstar with irreplaceable aura and efficiency, a commercial and sporting “asset” that the club sought to consolidate by turning him into a golden bridge on the pont d’or since his arrival in 2017 .

On the club’s financial and valuation side, do not panic, with the arrival in December of the American investment fund Arctos, which for around 530 million euros took 12.5% ​​of the capital.

Sportingly, a first response was given with the recruitment of Luis Enrique, the emblem of the new strategy that will prioritize the collective over the stars.

Between 2011, when the Qatari sovereign fund QSI became the owner of PSG, and 2023, a source at the club confided at the start of the season, “we had to lay all the foundations for a project, positioning PSG as a brand for internationals with names, such as Beckham, +Ibra+, Messi”.

“The second step,” she added, “is to use this base to build something focused solely on athletes to seek the European Holy Grail.”

From now on, “whoever best embodies the project is the coach, he has the keys and he has the double,” this source continued. “He has real legitimacy, real knowledge, he knows what he wants.”

– “A Busy Summer” –
The double-header against Dortmund showed that the squad, even if united, had its limitations and, moreover, a club aiming for final victory in the Champions League cannot do without a figurehead.

This is the whole point of the mission that has already been started by recruiters in the last few months. It is nevertheless parasitized by the uncertainty surrounding the future of sporting director Luis Campos, close to Mbappé.

Luis Enrique recently said that he hopes to be consulted: “My opinion is clear and public, I have worked with Luis Campos since the first days, I am very happy with our personal and professional relationship, I would like to be with him for many year.”

Luis Campos “is kind of a freelancer, who seems to like to move around, so there is a bit of uncertainty, but there is no intention on the part of the club to part with him, he is effective,” indicates a close source from club president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi. The question is anything but trivial at the moment when it will be necessary to push with the best clubs to succeed in recruitment.

The names of Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, Manchester City attacking midfielder Bernardo Silva, FC Barcelona midfielder Gavi and former Newcastle Lyon player Bruno Guimaraes have circulated for months. So many complex issues that will not bring, far from, the international influence of a Kylian Mbappé.

But in high places they promise: “The summer will be busy, and we’ve already made good progress.”