Chaos at PSG – Why are all their stars leaving the club?

The crisis continues at Paris-Saint-Germain. On Monday, June 12, the club's star striker, Kylian Mbappé, sent a letter to management saying he would not extend his contract.

This letter, therefore, means that the French striker could leave free next year, without transfer compensation for PSG. The Parisian club would therefore need to sell the player this summer in order to recoup their finances. 

Kylian Mbappé's rating on the transfer market is still very high and the club could ask for more than 150 million euros for their star player, who would leave the capital a year after the extension of his contract.

The Frenchman is not the only one who wants to leave the club. This summer, many PSG stars ended their adventure with the Qatari-led institution.

The latest is of course Lionel Messi. The Argentinian preferred to go to MLS, the American championship, rather than extend his contract with Paris Saint-Germain.

A few hours after the formalization of his departure, “La Pulga” had very harsh words for Paris, saying: “These are two years during which I was not happy, I did not have fun, and that has affected my family life.”

Sergio Ramos will also leave PSG after two years at the club. The former central defender of Real Madrid will not leave great memories to Parisian supporters.

While his second season was pretty decent, the Spaniard didn't play in his first year due to several injuries. He's leaving just two years after his arrival, without having made any real impact on the side. 

As for Neymar Jr., the end could come sooner than expected. Though his contract ends on June 30, 2025, the Brazilian isn't exactly bringing his fair share to the club either. 

If he made an excellent start to the 2022-2023 season, Neymar Jr. has still not recovered from his elimination in the quarter-finals of the World Cup against Croatia. Since then, he is only a shadow of himself.

Currently injured, the Brazilian could leave the club this summer. If there is a departure, it would mean that PSG could lose its three stars, the MNM, in one summer: Messi, Neymar, Mbappé.

This “leakage” of stars is not due to chance. Since the takeover of PSG by QSI in 2011, the management of the club and the Parisian side have come under fire from critics for a variety of reasons. 

First of all, player management is a real problem at PSG. Marco Verratti, Neymar Jr., Mauro Icardi… All these footballers had misconduct issues that the club did not sanction or even really address. 

The club is not tough enough, so much so that PSG is nicknamed "holiday club" by some media and supporters. PSG is an institution that must be above its players, and not the other way around.

PSG's other problem is, without a doubt, their management. Nasser Al-Khelaifi has been there since the very beginning and has shown his flaws as president. Besides the relationship with the players, the management shows no character and makes disastrous choices.

Among these choices, how not to mention the recruitment of the club? PSG spends hundreds of millions of euros each year and, despite everything, fails to create a collective worthy of the name.

The club prefers to buy declining superstars (Messi, Ramos, Buffon, etc.) rather than confirmed players at the peak of their careers. It's difficult to win the Champions League with players in pre-retirement.

The waltz of coaches is also a cause of the club's failures: Mauricio Pochettino, Unai Emery, Thomas Tuchel, Christophe Galtier... None of these coaches lasted more than three years!

Finally, the club's past continues to haunt its players. The repeated failures in the Champions League and the “remontadas” against Barça, Manchester United and Real Madrid have categorized PSG as a “cursed club” on the European scene.

Today, there are many more interesting prospects than PSG: Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Manchester United, Naples, Liverpool… PSG is no longer the glamour club it once was. 

The Parisian workforce seems, at present, far too poor to hope to win a Champions League. PSG is losing its stars and is now struggling to attract new ones. Will this cause the club to go on a downward spiral? Only time will tell...