Paris Saint-Germain: Inside Champions League finalist’s reinvention
In the Champions League final this weekend, Paris Saint-Germain have enjoyed a reinvention since the departure of Kylian Mbappe.
When historians come to chronicle the evolution of Paris Saint-Germain, it is likely they will highlight last summer’s acrimonious departure of Kylian Mbappe as an inflection point.
The France striker was the last of PSG’s true megastars to depart, a year after Lionel Messi and Neymar also scurried away, and marked the end of the club’s galactico era, which failed to deliver the European glory that its eye-watering outlay demanded.
Stripped of their biggest individual draws the club did a full 180, prioritising the collective and putting their faith in developing talent such as Desire Doue, Joao Neves and Vitinha, and the industrious Fabian Ruiz, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembele.
It has proven to be the making of them. Having swept to the domestic double yet again, they have been widely hailed as the best team in Europe this season and are now just 90 minutes away from claiming the prize they have hankered after the most: the Champions League, in the final of which they face Inter Milan on Saturday in Munich.
Perhaps contrary to popular wisdom, the loss of Mbappe, Messi and Neymar, who helped PSG reach more than 1m shirt sales per year, has not hurt them financially.
Quite the opposite. Club sources say Mbappe cost them an eye-watering €212m (£178m) in the final year of his contract; the removal of that huge burden, plus an ever-growing global fanbase and sell-outs at every home game mean that PSG expect to beat last year’s record €800m (£671m) revenue in 2025.
PSG ‘one team’
“Without doubt commercial success is driven by sporting success and the club has seen more sporting success without Mbappe,” an insider said.
“Mbappe did sell the most shirts and brought some commercial upside but that is outweighed by removing his enormous cost from the balance sheet.”
A speech given to all staff by PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi in January sums up the change in culture at a club previously seen as indulging its stellar names and their rampant egos.
“Everything we do is based on teamwork,” he said. “We are a family. We are ambassadors for our club and we support each other – in good times and less good times. Always one team.”
Where once PSG chiefs were, according to a source, “preoccupied with who tweeted what, who liked what, who’s arguing with who about penalties”, now the watchwords are harmony and collaboration.
In his speech at the start of the year, Al-Khelaifi underlined that focus by announcing a bonus scheme for all club staff – not just players and management.
A few weeks earlier, PSG officially opened a €300m (£252m) training complex designed to capitalise on their location in the biggest hothouse for professional footballers on the planet – the Paris area – and make them less reliant on expensive signings.
“The future of Paris Saint-Germain will be born and built here – not bought,” Al-Khelaifi said at the launch event. “Made in Paris. For Paris.”
This about-turn in strategy has also changed the way the club sells itself to partners. “There is a new culture at the club,” said an insider of the revised pitch. “And it’s all about the team rather than selfishness and egotism.”
Formidable unit
Much of the credit for the on-field transformation has to go to Luis Enrique, the former Spain and Barcelona coach who has brought a new-found discipline to the Parc des Princes.
His no-nonsense approach, dropping star forward Dembele over his behaviour, attracted some heat earlier in the season but has ultimately turned them into a formidable unit.
It has also seen Al-Khelaifi, so prominent since Qatar Sports Investments bought the club in 2011, adopt a more low-profile role focused mainly on off-field matters, such as the new PSG Campus and their ongoing ambition to move to a new stadium.
“From a marketing perspective, it’s a masterclass in the power of a brand reset,” said Richard Baker-Morisot, global business development director of sports agency WePlay, which has worked with the club since 2019.
“Real Madrid bet on superstardom. PSG bet on evolution. PSG are showing what happens when long-term strategy meets short-term success.”
Part of WePlay’s remit has been growing the club’s fanbase, which now includes more than 200m followers on social media. As an illustration of the impact of Champions League progress, the team’s two-legged semi-final win against Arsenal saw them gain almost 2m new followers.
Paris Saint-Germain ups and downs
For all the sunshine, there are some storm clouds. While PSG are insulated by their enormous commercial income, the collapse of French football’s domestic media rights deal, which remains unresolved, creates significant financial uncertainty.
The aftershocks of Mbappe’s exit rumble on, too, with the player suing the club for €55m he claims he is owed. PSG insist they are confident of winning the case, which saw its Monday hearing moved to an Industrial Tribunal at a later date.
Beating Inter Milan would also have some perhaps unexpected consequences. In common with many top clubs, victory in the final would actually be less immediately profitable than losing for PSG due to the bonuses due to players and staff. Conquering Europe at last, however, would bring long-term financial upside in sponsorship renewals and season ticket sales.
As for Mbappe, his move to Real Madrid has been a mixed bag. Individually, he has settled after a shaky start, scoring 40 goals. But while his old team are revitalised and on the cusp of their greatest season, he will finish the campaign without a major trophy and once again part of a team labouring under the weight of their own reputations.