Woes of PSG

Paris Saint-Germain’s colossal spending couldn’t save them from yet another massively disappointing Champions League exit.

At a total of $916.2 million, the French giants have spent the second-most transfer money worldwide to build their current squad — behind only Manchester City ($1.1B).

Up 2-0 on aggregate in their second-leg matchup against Real Madrid ($582.5M), PSG allowed a second-half hat-trick to Karim Benzema and crashed out in the UCL Round of 16 for the fourth time in six seasons.

Even with a lone bright spot, the superstar attacking trio simply didn’t work.

• PSG paid Barcelona the highest transfer fee of all time ($244.2M) for Neymar in 2017. The Brazilian went scoreless this UCL campaign, contributing two assists.
• Lionel Messi, who notoriously left Barça on a free transfer in 2021, scored five goals over the campaign but generally played below his stratospheric standards.
• Kylian Mbappe was the second-most-expensive transfer ever ($159.5M) and led the team with four assists and six goals — including the only two against Madrid — during UCL play.

And to twist the knife further, Mbappe appears intent on leaving PSG for their conquerors.

The 23-year-old reportedly rejected a $188 million offer from PSG that would have made him one of the world’s highest-paid footballers.

Now, Real are gearing up to offer the French superstar a huge contract once his deal expires this summer.