World Soccer - UK (2021-10)

MessidoesnotsolveanyofPSG’sproblems

Playersare notislands,entire of

themselves.Theyexistaspart of

structures,insystems.Theyneed

playersaroundthem.A player may

haveextraordinary naturalability,

buthewillbe abletoexploit it fully

onlywith therightplayersaround

him–and,ofcourse,healsohas

a responsibilitytoothersinhisteam,

tofulfilhisdutiessothattheytoo may

getthe best outoftheirabilities.

Beforethissummer, 20 players

hadmovedforfeesof€ 80 million

ormore.Ofthose,onlyfourcanbe

consideredclearsuccesses:Cristiano

Ronaldo’s transferfromManchester

UnitedtoRealMadrid,LuisSuarez’s

switchfromLiverpooltoBarcelona,

RomeluLukaku’smovetoInterfrom

Manchester United,andVirgilvan Dijk

joiningLiverpoolfromSouthampton.

Somehavebeenobviousfailures

• Barcelona’ssigningsofPhilippe
  CoutinhoandOusmaneDembele,
  KepaArrizabalaga’smovetoChelsea.
  Manyhavenotgotgoingbutmaystill
  comegood – JoaoFelixtoAtletico
  Madrid,EdenHazard to RealMadrid,
  LucasHernandeztoBayernMunich,
  AntoineGriezmanntoBarca.Others
  arecontested:Gareth Balemayhave
  wonfourChampionsLeagueswith

RealMadrid,butneverseemsto

havebeeneitherhappy norcentral

totheirplans;CristianoRonaldo has

scored 81 leaguegoalsinhisfirst

three seasonsforJuventus,butat

vastexpenseandwithouttakingthem

anynearertowinning theChampions

League;ManchesterUnitedarestill

waitingforHarryMaguire andPaul

Pogbatodelivertrophies.

Andthentherearethe bigtwoat

thetopofthelist:Neymar andKylian

Mbappe.Which is whereLionelMessi

comesin.Neymar andMbappecost

PSGa combined€402mandhave

broughtthreeleaguetitles,three

CoupesdeFranceandtwo league

cups.But they have notwonthe

ChampionsLeague.Giventhe

financialadvantagesPSGenjoy

overtheircompetitorsinFrance,

thatreallyistheonlycompetition

thatshouldmeananything.Losing

theleague title to Lillewasa major

humiliation.Doesthatrepresent

a successfulinvestment?

Intraditionalterms probably

not,butwhatsigningNeymarand

MbappedidforPSGwas to inflate

themarket.Theydugthe trap by

activatingNeymar’sreleaseclause

andBarcelonagleefullyleaptin; just

astheyhadafter losingLuisFigoto

RealMadridin 20 00,theyfeltthe

stingofrejectionand,on therebound,

madetwo hugesignings,neitherof

whomfittedthesystem.Theultimate

consequenceofthat,allied to gross

mismanagement,isthatPSG areable

topickupMessifromBarca forfree.

THEWORLD THISMONTH

A forwardlineofMessi,Neymar

andMbappe is absolutelyterrifying.

Theywill,surely, score hatfuls

ofgoalsinLigue1.Therewillbe

momentsof brilliance,whether

individual or fromthethreein

combination.How meaningfulthat

isagainstsuchlimitedopponents

(Messi’s basicannualsalaryis only

a fractionlessthanthatofLille’sfor

theirentire squad)isquestionable,

butRCParis’record of1 18 goals

All-starcast...PSG’ssummersignings (left-right):AchrafHakimi,

GiniWijnaldum,GianluigiDonnarumma,SergioRamosand Messi

Welcome...Messi

beingpresented

withthe No. 30

shirtattheParc

desPrinces

Messibringsattentionandgoals.Butgoalswere

nevertheproblemforPSG

TECHNICALLYSPEAKING

Jonathan

WILSON