Champions League once again exposes cracks at PSG

PSG are facing the possibility of another early Champions League exit, and the departure of stars like Neymar and Kylian Mbappe could come with it.

The Champions League Round of 16 has become something of a torture chamber for Paris Saint-Germain in recent times. For all that Qatari oil billions have done to turn the Parc des Princes outfit into a club widely seen as one of European soccer’s very strongest, PSG have failed to clear this first hurdle in each of the last three years.

What happened on Tuesday could see them exit the Champions League at the same stage for the fourth straight season, suffering a 2-1 first leg defeat to Borussia Dortmund.

In isolation, this result was far from disastrous for Thomas Tuchel’s side, grabbing an away goal to give them a real foothold in the tie. What was more concerning was the mood in the PSG camp after the match at the Westfalenstadion.

Neymar in particular cut a disgruntled figure, hitting out at the way his manager and club dealt with a recent injury.

“It’s hard not to play for four games,” Neymar said, referencing the games he was rested for in the build up to the Champions League clash with Dortmund. “Unfortunately it was not my choice, it came from the club, the doctors… they’re the ones who made the decision, one that I did not like.

“I understand the fear that the club was suffering from, because in the last two years I was not able to play in the round of 16. I respect the decision, but it cannot be like this, because the player ends up suffering. It was very difficult to play a match like this, intense, 90 minutes without stopping. It is different. Had I been in better shape, I would certainly have played better.”

This came less than a month after a very public confrontation between Tuchel and Kylian Mbappe on the touchline in domestic play. The World Cup winner reacted badly to being hooked from play 20 minutes from the end of a 5-0 demolition of Montpellier. A clear-the-air meeting reportedly held the next day did little to clear the air between the two headstrong men.

The appointment of Tuchel was supposed to eradicate the culture of individualism at PSG. The German coach concerns himself only with soccer matters and so he has always been something of an awkward fit as the manager of a club that wants to transcend sport. This misalignment has manifested itself in some of the stories to have come out of the Parc des Princes of late, and in the performance turned in on Tuesday.

Another managerial parting of the ways appears to be on the horizon, particularly with PSG potentially faced with a choice between Mbappe and Tuchel. If Neymar leaves at the same time, with a return to Barcelona certainly still on the cards, this summer might give the French champions a genuine chance of a fresh start.

Until then, though, the Champions League trophy will remain their beacon. ‘Project PSG,’ at least the sporting side of it, has been guided by a burning desire to be crowned Europe’s best. Every big money signing they have made, from Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Mbappe, has been made with the intention of them one day delivering them club soccer’s biggest prize.

The open nature of this season’s Champions League means PSG, despite all their deep-rooted problems, cannot be discounted as contenders. They could still make a charge through the competition purely on the individual quality they boast in Mbappe, Neymar, Mauro Icardi, Angel di Maria and the rest.

And yet even if PSG’s season does finish with them lifting the famous old trophy in Istanbul there will be a hollowness to their achievement. This is a soccer club that has spent millions, billions even, on trying to become more and in doing so they have only succeeded in underlining how little meaning underpins the whole thing.