On paper, Paris Saint-Germain had one of, if not the strongest team in Europe ahead of the 2021-22 season. However, things have not gone according to plan for Mauricio Pochettino‘s men, who have once again fallen short in their quest for a UEFA Champions League success.
PSG were eliminated from Europein disappointing fashion, as Real Madrid turned a two-goal deficit around to punch a ticket to the quarterfinals. Since then, the season looked practically over for the French side.
Yes, PSG can still win the Ligue 1 title. But that seems to be far from satisfying for an ambitious club that has spent fortunes over the last few years – especially last summer – to achievebigger things. Lionel Messi and Neymar were expected to form a mighty offensive trio with Kylian Mbappe, but only the latter has lived up to the expectations.
French media praiseMbappe and throw Messi, Neymar under the bus
An article from French newspaper Le Parisien suggests that the former Barcelona pair have to acceptthey’re not at the same level than the Frenchman, who should take the reins of the team from now.
“Neymar and Messi, at the service of his majesty Mbappe,” theheadline of the article reads. While Neymar and Messi struggled to perform this season, Mbappe hasput the team on his back when it needed him the most.
The articlementions that Mbappehas reached a level that has allowed him “to bear the full weight of a team,” andalso adds that Messi does not have theinfluence he had at Barcelona , while Neymar has been injured for too long .
One could easily agree with all three things, especially if you look at the stats. While Mbappe is PSG’s top scorer this season with 31 goals across all competitions, Neymarhas been on the scoresheet just10 times while Messi only found the net on eight occasions.
But the worst could be yet to come for PSG as Mbappe is out of contract in June and has yet to make a decision about his future, with Real Madrid heavily interested in the forward. Will Paris manage to keep him and run it back with the three of them next season?