Paris Saint-Germain ended the season with a domestic double after defeating Lyon in the French Cup final on Saturday, but now they must prepare for another Champions League campaign next year, this time without Kylian Mbappé (25 years old).
The French captain concluded his seven-year tenure at PSG with a 2-1 victory over Lyon, during which he couldn’t add to his record tally of 256 goals for the club, as Ousmane Dembélé and Fabián Ruiz scored in that match.
It was a well-deserved victory against a Lyon team that had been the best in France during the second half of the season, after being at the bottom of the table in December. However, PSG’s continued dominance in French football simply reflects its overwhelming financial power compared to any other club.
According to the latest detailed accounts published by the DNCG, the body that oversees the finances of professional clubs in France, PSG’s revenue in 2022/23 was approximately equivalent to that of the five richest teams – Marseille, Lyon, Monaco, Rennes, and Lille – combined.
Their focus has long been to win the Champions League, a trophy they have never managed to secure over the years with Mbappé, Lionel Messi, Neymar, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and other stars in their ranks.
And coach Luis Enrique knows how immense the task ahead is as he tries to build a team that can achieve the Champions League success they never managed with Mbappé.
“He is obviously a unique player and we cannot replace him with a single player. There is no substitute for Kylian Mbappé,” the Spanish coach said after Saturday’s final.
“We will have to replace him with the team as a whole and maybe with four, five, or six new signings,” he added.
“Big Challenge”
It is not yet clear if PSG will recruit a big star – Victor Osimhen or Rafael Leão – but it is likely they will want to avoid the approach taken by Barcelona when they lost Neymar in 2017 or by Tottenham Hotspur when they sold Gareth Bale to Real Madrid.
Barcelona paid high prices for several big names in an attempt to replace the Brazilian, but most did not succeed.
The Spurs adopted a somewhat different approach, with a series of signings to compensate for the loss of Bale – once again, the success of this strategy was limited.
“A big challenge for any player wanting to come here is that we want to make history,” added Luis Enrique.
“This club will win, sooner or later, the long-coveted Champions League title. It is difficult to win. It may take years, but in the future, they will win it without any doubt.”
The Qatari-owned club is preparing for the next season with a tour in China, where they will face Monaco in the Trophée des Champions at the beginning of August.
The new Ligue 1 season begins on August 16, with the Champions League starting in mid-September.
“This season is ending, but negotiations and possibilities to improve the squad are already starting,” said Luis Enrique, who will also rely on the remaining stars like Dembélé, Achraf Hakimi, Portuguese Vitinha, and young Warren Zaire-Emery.
“It is an impressive project when you consider what this club is capable of achieving,” added the coach before contemplating a summer break he plans to spend at home, watching some Euro 2024 on TV “with a beer or two.”
And what about the rest of French football?
Lyon wants to continue the momentum from the second half of the season with coach Pierre Sage, who signed a new contract.
Olympique de Marseille is looking for a new coach after a difficult season, in which they failed to qualify for European competitions, while Monaco and surprising Brest are eyeing the Champions League. However, the health of the league as a whole is uncertain, in addition to the issues caused by PSG’s dominance.
Ligue 1 still does not have a broadcast agreement for the next season, as clubs continue to face financial difficulties following the collapse of a record deal with the Spanish company Mediapro in 2020.
The hope, according to reports, is that a deal will be struck with beIN Sports – a network that, like PSG, is controlled by Qatar – but time is of the essence.