Kylian Mbappe’s PSG reflect on latest Champions League failure as media question ‘losing culture’
- Defeat at Bayern sees Qatar-owned club lose last-16 Champions League tie and go out in first knockout round for fifth time in seven years
- In 11 seasons in the competition in the Qatar era, PSG have won only seven two-legged knockout ties
Paris Saint-Germain were convinced that persuading Kylian Mbappe to stay would finally deliver them Champions League glory, but the failure to build a strong enough team around the France superstar has contributed to another early European exit.
Wednesday’s 2-0 loss to Bayern Munich in Germany saw the Qatar-owned club lose their last-16 tie 3-0 on aggregate and go out in the first knockout round for the fifth time in seven years.
PSG’s run to the 2020 final now looks even more like an anomaly, coming in a pandemic-hit season when the Champions League was reduced to a mini-tournament behind closed doors.
There were celebrations last May when Mbappe agreed a new three-year contract to stay with Lionel Messi and Neymar in the French capital rather than join Real Madrid.
The appointments of Portuguese super scout Luis Campos as head of recruitment and Christophe Galtier as coach to replace Mauricio Pochettino were supposed to be followed by the building of an exciting new team.
It is hard to argue now that PSG are stronger with the likes of Vitinha and Fabian Ruiz than they were with Angel di Maria and Leandro Paredes last year.