PSG, Champions League: the surprising exit of Nasser Al-Khelaïfi

PSG is at an ideological turning point. Accustomed to recruiting great players since the arrival of QSI, the capital club tends to create a complementary group capable of winning matches by showing real collective strength. To do this, the last summer transfer window was centered around Kylian Mbappé. Thus, Marco Verratti, Lionel Messi and Neymar were invited to leave the club while more complementary players with KM7 landed in Ile-de-France. A method that works as Paris is sovereign in Ligue 1 and while qualification for the quarter-finals of the Champions League has been acquired for the benefit of Real Sociedad. But now, this reading was viable until the scheduled departure of Kylian Mbappé. As we revealed to you exclusively since January 7, the Bondynois will leave PSG freely at the end of the season in order to join Real Madrid.

A huge transfer which changes a lot of things for the player, but especially for the residents of the Parc des Princes. Eager to prepare for the future, Luis Enrique decided to no longer field the captain of the France team for 90 minutes each time. As proof, the latter was a substitute this Sunday against Reims and Luis Enrique does not hesitate to explain at will that it is a strategic choice to prepare the future Parisian without Kylian Mbappé. A bias that Nasser Al-Khelaïfi supports. The president of PSG, interviewed by Bartoli Time, approved this approach and explained that he was very satisfied with the work of the Iberian coach. “Players want to win every matchconcedes NAK. But we also have to be realistic. We build a team. Most of the players are new, almost. In the last game, only two or three players were playing last year. We’re building a new team, so it’s not easy. The players are not ready just because we put them together. I am also proud of our coach (Luis Enrique), who is doing a fantastic job. He does an incredible job building all of this. It’s not just about results, it’s also about the way we play, the strategy, the vision. I am also very proud of the sports director (Luis Campos), who is also doing a fantastic job. All the players too. We are really happy.»

Nasser Al-Khelaïfi is not aiming for the Champions League this season

An approach that inevitably raises questions. While PSG could take advantage of the presence of Kylian Mbappé to give themselves one last chance to win the Champions League, everything does not seem to be going in the right direction to achieve this much-desired goal. And to hear the boss of Paris Saint-Germain, winning the big-eared cup is not an accessible dream in the coming months: “Listen, the Champions League is a long story. Maybe we’ll talk about it in the future. We said at the start of the season that we wanted to build a team for the future. A team that can really play together for another six to eight years. We have the youngest team in the quarter-finals. We have the youngest team among the top ten European clubs. It makes us proud, and it’s really great that we are following this strategy with young players, French too, to achieve the maximum. Everyone saw the last match.

Relaunched on the qualities of the Parisian squad, capable of winning this competition at the end of the season, the Qatari president has not changed his course of action. For him, the most important thing is to prepare for the future. And that regardless of the quality of the return leg of his flock against Real Sociedad in the round of 16 of the UCL: “it was an incredible match but there is still a long way to go before achieving big goals. This is the first step, match by match, there is a long road and it won’t be easy, that’s for sure. There are the top eight teams in the quarter-finals. What I ask is that everyone works every day, in training, in every match, to give everything. That’s all. There are no big expectations, we really want to think about the future.» Comments which should cause discussion and concern among PSG supporters…