Paris Saint-Germain’s long wait for European glory has been extended for another season.
The French giants, who are one of the biggest spenders in world football, have suffered yet another early exit from the Champions League.
Despite boasting a squad that included the likes of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, PSG fell to a 2-0 defeat to Bayern Munich in the second leg of their last-16 fixture, to go out 3-0 on aggregate.
The Paris club have now been eliminated from the tournament’s last-16 stage in five out of their previous seven campaigns.
It would appear that in PSG’s case at least, money does not guarantee success.
Wider repercussions
Another early exit from Europe’s elite club competition will no doubt dent their pride and hurt their finances, but there could also be more far-reaching consequences for several individuals.
This is especially so for manager Christophe Gaultier, who’s been under pressure even before their latest Champions League slip-up.
Under the Frenchman, PSG currently enjoy a comfortable lead at the top of the Ligue 1 standings, but that is not sufficient for a club that measures its success by how well it does in Europe.
Many pundits agree that failure to win the Champions League will almost certainly spell the end of Galtier’s stint in charge.
There’s also the question of Lionel Messi’s future at the Parc des Princes.
The World Cup winner has so far failed to get past the last-16 stage in two attempts since joining PSG from Barcelona.
On a personal level this can only be described as a disappointment for Messi, considering the enormous European success he enjoyed while at Barca.
Their latest exit may just convince the Argentine that his future lies elsewhere.
Finally, there’s the long-running debate about whether Kylian Mbappe will end up leaving in the summer.
The French striker is one of the best footballers on the planet at the moment and is not short of potential suitors.
Mbappe will no doubt feel that his talents do not match PSG’s ability to challenge for European honours, leaving him no choice but to seek greener pastures (most likely with Real Madrid).
Losing both Messi and Mbappe would be a major blow, even for a massive club like PSG, but that may be the price they’ll have to pay for another empty-handed campaign in Europe.
