Finale in Champions League: Mbappé is a passé: Jung’s PSG Will “write history”

For years, Paris Saint-Germain was primarily associated with one number: 222 million. The French spent so many euros in 2017 to hire superstar Neymar. An absurd high sum, created for one goal: winning the Champions League.

The fact that the Parisians also loosened 180 million euros for Kylian Mbappé a season later underlined their sporty obsession on the most valuable trophy in club football – and of course also the almost infinite financial resources.

But all of the lots of money and also Lionel Messi as the third world star next to Neymar and Mbappé were not enough to triumph in the European premier class. The three supposed salvation charms are gone from Paris. Several football romantics delight themselves with the regular failure of PSG, the failure of the top club, which was made of Qatar.

Rummenigge: Pariser “Club-DNA has completely changed”

But now the dry spell should be over: In the final of the Champions League on Saturday (9:00 p.m./ZDF/DAZN) against Inter Milan, Paris faces the happy ending of a trip that lasts more than a decades and a half. It is significant that it can be so far in the season – the first after the Mbappé era.

“The Club-DNA has changed completely. In the past, after the investor entry, one focused on big names-today on a more homogeneous team,” analyzes Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, once the CEO of FC Bayern Munich. He is a long-time observer of the PSG project in Europe’s football elite. For the 69-year-old, Paris is “the big surprise of this season”, as he says to the German press agency.

Schnapps number and snap idea

In Corona summer 2020, Rummenigges Bayern and Paris were faced with coach Thomas Tuchel in the final of the Champions League, the Munich won 1-0. PSG was not so close to the triumph in front of it and afterwards. Even when Messi was signed for an apparently unbeatable offensive trio Neymar-Bappé-Messi, the end of the round of 16 followed. The Parisian royal class plan had started with the schnapps number of 222 million euros – in the end it was more of a snap idea.

In 2023, rethinking under Neu-coach Luis Enrique followed. “Instead of stars, his team consists of young, hungry players who all absolutely want to achieve something and have a great technology,” explains Thilo Kehrer in the “Kicker”.

The defense lawyer was in the Champions League final against Bayern in the Champions League final even for PSG. In the meantime, he plays at Monaco, but recognizes a “changed philosophy” from PSG from afar. He trusts his ex-team the success of Bayern and Barcelona conquerors Inter.

Doué, Neves and Barcola instead of Neymar, Mbappé and Messi

Unlike in Neymar or Mbappé times, the collective is now in the foreground. Sure, players are still kicking out in the team and the club continues to cost themselves something: only last winter, for example, the Georgian offensive artist Chwitscha Kwarazchelia was brought from Naples for around 70 million euros. In addition, teenagers and twenties like Désiré Doué, João Neves or Bradley Barcola swirl. They should be the PSG future.

None of these professionals notice uncomfortable. Even Ousmane Dembélé, who once struck away from Dortmund, was tamed by Enrique. “I changed a lot,” admits the Frenchman.

In May 2011, the Emirate of Qatar joined the traditional club and invested several hundreds of million euros in the following years. PSG wanted to become the new glamor address in Europe, celebrities like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Beckham and Neymar, Mbappé and Messi should take care of this. But it was never enough for the Henkelpott – now the no -names can do that?

Trainer temperament hits Paris nerve

Rummenigge, who had worked for years with the powerful Paris boss Nasser Al-Khelaifi at the European Club Association ECA, also recognizes the success factors at PSG. “First, they significantly reduced their Payroll – many of the largest earners who also caused unrest in the cabin are no longer there,” he said. “Secondly, with Luis Enrique, they finally found the right trainer.”

The Spaniard is actually known to be rather excited, restless and spirited. There are emotional cheering pictures of him as well as scenes in which he is pissed off after disappointments and sometimes pushing journalists.

But just the former international, Triple coach of FC Barcelona 2015 and head coach from Spain’s national team hit the nerve at PSG. “We have continuously developed and grown. We can be proud of that,” he says. “But we have to finish the work, because our real goal is to write history.”