How The Qataris Have Got Everything Wrong At PSG

football is a team sport but the World Cup Final in Qatar two months ago between France and Argentina was very much billed as the Battle of two players on one side there was Lionel Messi already the greatest player of all time at a lot of people's eyes competing in his last World Cup having already won everything in the club game including the champions league and the Ballon d'Or by the age of 22 the World Cup was the one trophy but the biggest trophy of them all that had a looted Messi age 35 he had 90 minutes to change that and cement his status in most people's minds as the greatest to have ever played their game on the other side there was Kelly and mbappe age 23 and Bape was already competing in his second World Cup final having won the first one in Russia four and a half years ago a generational Talent the star of the tournament up to that point and the man that most people expect to inherit the mantle of being the best player on the planet during the post messy and Ronaldo era and that they had the chance to win his second World Cup before turning 24 following in the footsteps of the late great Palais neither player would disappoint Messi scored the opening goal and played a key role in the second as Argentina dominated the opening 75 minutes but then came the mbappe inspired France Onslaught in just two minutes and Bape scored two goals one from the penalty spot just like Messi and the other an outrageous volley which left the world speechless deep into extra time Messi scored again it looked to have been written in the stars the world's greatest player scoring at their death in his last chance to Crown his country as world champions and Bape would seem hadn't read the script just two minutes from time he dispatched his second penalty of the match it's a complete only the second hat-trick in a World Cup final and today take the game to penalties Argentina won the match both Messi and mbappe converting the opening penalties in the shootouts but both players emerge with their already sky-high reputations even further enhanced being no doubt this was the greatest player of all time and the greatest of the subsequent generation the idea that they should play for the same team at Club level therefore as even some Americans with only a very fleeting interest in the sports observed seemed to be downright unfair throw in the best player for the pre-tournament favorites Brazil the star of a Morocco team that reached the semi-finals a goalkeeper caps 50 times by the reigning European Champions at the age of 23 and the most decorated center-back ever to have played the game surely the team that has all of these players must be some kind of all-conquering Juggernaut that has made European football their own well not quite despite having the backing of the same Petro state that hosted the 2022 World Cup since 2011 PSG are yet to win their Champions League knocked out in the round of 16 last season the parisians just lost in the first leg at the same stage against Bayern Munich this season fresh off the back of a defeat to Marseille in the round of 16 of the coup de France PSG have now lost three games in a row for the first time since the qataris arrived in 2011 they have already lost more games in 2023 in February than they did in the whole of 2022 and real questions are starting to be asked of how it has come to this for a team which has the odds so firmly stacked in their favor so 15 months on from my last video about PSG entitled have PSG created a monster they can't control which has aged considerably better than most of the drivel that comes out of my mouth on this channel I wanted to return to the French capital and specifically to the partner prompts to ask the question of whether PSG are the stupidest Club in all of world football how they could have done things differently and why If Only They had hired me as their director of football they'd probably be bigger than Real Madrid by now all of which seems particularly relevant at this moment in time as the Qatari state is in talks to take over at Manchester United as well the Emir of Qatar acquired PSG through the investment vehicle Qatar Sports investments in June of 2011 and then became the club's Soul owner in March 2012. he and the dictatorship that he rules over inadvertently struck gold PSG have occupied a pretty much unique position over the last decade as the Seoul super Club in a region which has become the greatest Talent Factory in all of world football the Elder France region which surrounds and includes France's Capital has given rise to an extraordinary number of footballers during that time frame key members of France's 2018 World Cup winning Squad such as Killian and Bape Paul Pogba and Angolo kante were all born in paris's relatively impoverished suburbs or banliers as they are commonly known in France which have large first second and third generation immigrant populations and bape's father is from Cameroon whilst his mother isab Algerian kabile descent pogba's parents are both from Guinea and kante's parents hail from Mali all four of those countries you may have noticed a former French colonies other examples include Joel kunde Riyad mahrez Christopher and cuckoo furl and Mendy ibrahima canate William Saliba Adrian rabio and Seiko fafana in recent years paris's Banias haven't just been more productive than other regions and cities renowned for producing great players such as London Sao Paulo and Madrid they have outperformed almost every entire country on the planet what's more whilst London is home to six Premier League clubs including Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal Corinthians Palmeras and Sao Paulo are all fighting to secure the best players from the city of Sao Paulo and you can throw sansos into the mix from the state as a whole it has three La Liga teams including two European Giants in real and Atletico Madrid there isn't a single Top Flight football club from the entire IL de France region which is home to over 12 million people let alone from the city of Paris other than PSG in other words PSG ought to have an effective Monopoly over the greatest Talent Factory on planet's Earth yet they have failed miserably to capitalize upon that gift from the heavens of all of the players that I just mentioned who were born with an a stone's throw of the partner prompts only Killian and Bape plays for PSG and they paid 163 million pounds for him the second highest transfer fee of all time he didn't come through their own youth ranks and the only ones who did actually come through and then graduate from their youth ranks namely Adrian rabio and Christopher and cuckoo were sold for nothing in rabio's case and just 13 million euros in uncle use this is what I like to call the Komen conundrum yes I just invented it now no doubt everyone will be talking about it soon I will also accept the common contradiction as a viable alternative but I really do think that the Coleman conundrum is a better fit on the balance of things Kingsley Coleman was born not actually in one of paris's many bandliers but in the city itself so parents from Guadalupe Coleman joined the youth ranks of Sanam moisse at the age of six who competes in the regional and holy amateur 60 of French football following two years there the youngster was spotted and signed by PSG a Starman for France from the under-16s all the way through to the under-20 ones and among the most highly regarded youngsters in Europe and his teenage years Coleman became psg's youngest ever player at the age of only 16. by 17 however he had decided that his future lay away from the club having made just four first-team appearances in his own words Coleman said that he felt Juventus suited him more that he would make more first-team appearances there and that he had doubts about the capabilities of some of the senior figures at PSG PSG didn't receive a penny when Coleman departed as he signed for Juventus on a free transfer after his contract had expired and a year later he joined Bayern Munich on loan and then on a permanent in a deal which pocketed uvae a combine 28 million euros since leaving PSG Coleman has won the league in every single season of his career taking him up to a tally of eight top lightly titles at the age of 26. he has reached two Champions League finals with two different clubs and he won the second one in 2020. the Champions League final at Coleman won with Bayern Munich in 2020 came against PSG and it was fitting that he should score the only goal of the match in what was a close encounter tiranai his Boyhood Club of their Holy Grail Coleman once again scored the only goal of the game as Bayern beat PSG on Tuesday night to take a Wonder lead with them to the second leg back home in Munich Coleman is almost too perfect of an illustration of what the qataris have got wrong at PSG by buying a club in Lee gun which is the weakest of Europe's Big Five leagues and pumping it with as much if not more cash than any of the continent super clubs PS G we're always going to become flat track bullies at home psg's budget is literally five times that of the next highest spending league on side which means that winning the league untitle or the Coupe de France is barely considered an achievements it's more of a foregone conclusion the Champions League was always likely to become the de facto Mark of success at PSG then but PSG actually made it the official one Club president Nasser al-kalafi stated publicly as early as 2014 that the Champions League was psg's be all and end-all and that failure to win it in the next four years would constitute failure that was nine years ago now and by measuring themselves solely by their fate in a knockout competition every season he put PSG on her Harding to nothing it's quite difficult to win the Champions League I'm not sure if Al khalafi a former tennis player who achieved a career high of 900 and 95 in the world rankings was aware of that at the time and even if PSG were a well-runned football club which they most assuredly are not that would still be the case and at this point 12 years into the project even if PSG did win the Champions League there would be no lack of football fans who would shrug their shoulders point to their spending and say only one in 12 15 or 20 years depending on when if ever that moment finally arrives as much as the failures of strategy and general mismanagement that is what PSG have got so badly wrong no one likes them including their own Ultras and supporters quite a lot of the time who have voiced their displeasure at how the club is being run and when you're in the business of sports washing that is somewhat problematic after all we can't lose sight of what PSG and a handful of other football clubs have become this is not a fan-owned community Unity Club which is what PSG was founded as owned by 20 000 members nor is it The Preserve of a handful of wealthy parisians who wanted to see their team succeed which is what succeeded the club's fan own days this isn't even a club owned by an investment firm as PSG were in the form of colony Capital up to 2011. seeking a return on their investment based upon sporting and Commercial performance no this is a club owned by a state they would deny that but they would be lying which has zero emotional attachment to the club and is totally dispassionate to its fate other than as a means for achieving its wider goals sometimes those goals align with the views and Ambitions of the team supporters as has been the case up to this point broadly speaking at Manchester City or Newcastle United but there are times inevitably when those two things don't align that's not to say that the Qatari State doesn't want PSG to win the champions league for example of course they do just that they want it for very different reasons to PSG fans and it is not their primary goal what PSG is in the business of doing is giving the state of Qatar ever closer ties to the French government French politicians and French business people increasing qatar's influence and soft power within the region and cleansing the image of what is in fact a tiny authoritarian dictatorship in the Gulf that is why throughout their ownership the qataris have always been more focused on signing Superstars than they have been on building a great team you look at the likes of Beckham Buffon Danny Alves Neymar Messi and Sergio Ramos undoubtedly all great players but that isn't the main reason why any of them were signed Beckham was only at PSG for six months but he played his last ever game for the club creating iconic m images of him crying in a PSG shirts which were broadcast around the world and Qatar went on to further extend that relationship with Beckham by paying him 150 million pounds for a 10-year propaganda campaign Buffon stuck around for just a single season perhaps they were hoping he'd retire there too but the Italian is still somehow going strong at 45 now back up Palmer Alves similarly was only ever a short-term arrival mimal Neymar was signed as a statement of intent to send out a message to the rest of world football the PSG could effectively sign whomever they wanted by meeting a release Clause that Barcelona had set in the belief that no one would ever be stupid enough to pay such a ridiculous transfer fee I suspect that the upsides of signing Messi as they saw it go without saying it is perhaps telling that it was in 2011 shortly after Qatar won the right house the two thousand 22 World Cup that Qatar decided to take over PSG in November 2010 the Emir of Qatar then French president Nicolas Sarkozy and then UEFA president and France footballing Legend Michelle platini all had lunch together at the Elysee Palace shortly after that platini switched his vote for the 2022 World Cup hosts from the United States to Qatar Qatar subsequently not only bought PSG but also increased its ownership in a French Media Group acquired the broadcasting rights for all of French football and made a series of commercial deals with the French government which have continued ever since Sarkozy can still often be spotted sat alongside PSG president Nasser alkalafia PSG games and the current Emir of Qatar attended psg's defeats of Bayern Munich on Tuesday night but only because he was already in the French Capital to hold talks with now French president Emmanuel macron to discuss a further strengthening of the country's relations and future deals regarding the exports of natural gas it would be fair to say then that football wasn't the single most important part of the emir's trip platini claims that his meeting with Sarkozy and the Emir had nothing to do with him switching his votes and that he wasn't told to do so by Sarkozy stating quote Sarkozy never asked me to vote for Qatar but I knew what would be good end quote good for who exactly he didn't State though one can guess nor was it ever clarified at least as far as I can tell as to why platini just so happened to be having a spot of lunch at the Elysee palace with the French and Qatari heads of state Qatar of course denies any wrongdoing they do that a lot now that the World Cup is over there are those who wondered what kind of appetite Qatar would have to continue investing in PSG and whether they might alter their strategy moving forward in terms of image it's always going to be difficult to be cool and I use that word with a bit of a cringe or just to be liked when you dominate domestically every season by virtue of having a much larger budget than any of your Rivals the cool teams tend to be those who play good football don't always win and have an inferior budget to their Rivals whether that be Borussia Dortmund Napoli or Atalanta but some still do it better than others Barcelona iax and sway lesser extent Benfica for example all either are or were fairly well liked even whilst being relentlessly successful certainly domestically at least and having among the largest if not the largest wage bill in their respective divisions what those three all have in common are clear and very well-defined identities tied to the major European cities in which they are based and they fantastic track record of developing youngsters and locals and providing them with a pathway to the first team PSG as we have already established practically hold a monopoly as a football club over arguably the most iconic city in Europe if not in the entire world Paris is famous for being the city of love it has incredible history more iconic landmarks than just about any other place on earth a very distinct culture and identity and to top it all off an ability to churn out a plethora of outstanding footballers in essence the qataris had everything that they could ever have dreamed of handed to them on a plate of PSG but they chose to send it back and order a plate full of foie gras white truffle caviar A5 wagyu and those yubari melons that you get in Japan that can cost about 50 000 quid although very expensive Foods highly coveted and considered to be Delicacies but together they Clash there is just far too much going on making for a wretched dish and leaving you feeling rather nauseous by the end alright I am laboring the meta for just a little but you get the general idea PSG were once cool they had JJ kocha and Ronaldinho in the same team for Christ's sake along with a local Wonder kid in Nicholas and Alka sure they didn't win anything but they won the Champions League just as many times as the current crop with a big budget let alone an enormous one it would have been possible to build the best Academy in World football to nurture the finest crop of young players anywhere on the planet build a team of world-class locals from your own youth ranks with close ties to the club and complement them with just a sprinkling of galactico style signings for a bit of fun I had a go at doing just that here is a solely Elder France 11 and here is what the final product might look like with just three signings not from within the club's immediate vicinity not bad eh I have just saved PSG about a billion euros half that wage Bell made them slightly cool and liked again and a much better team if anyone from PSG is watching I do off the consulting services but I do not come cheap this is a point that I saw reiterated by Grace Robertson on Twitter the other night the same night that PSG lost to buy in about the lack of identity in local players and it's one that seems so obvious what is particularly unusual is the PSG have actually Incorporated the incredibly powerful brand of the City of Paris when it comes to their kits various fashion wear and other forms of branding they've just totally overlooked it on the pitch I suppose it's possible that that is being driven by Nike rather than PSG themselves but it is hard to believe that no one at the club could have spotted this contradiction I mean how many winning goals does Kingsley Coleman really have to score against them before the penny finally drops you'd rarely have thought that too one of them coming in a Champions League final would have been enough from the perspective of a Manchester United fan even if you are to ignore all of the ethical considerations purely from a footballing perspective are these really the people that you would want owning your Club a Petro state that struck gold in 2011 but has spent the last 12 years importing very expensive silver instead the difference at Manchester United being that they don't have a monopoly and there are no guaranteed titles in the Premier League now it would be remiss of me not to point out that there is some evidence that PSG have changed act over the last 12 months Leonardo psg's former sporting director who was criticized by fans was sacked in May 2022 Louis Campos officially appointed as a football advisor is his de facto replacement for the uninitiated Campos is widely regarded as one of the finest Talent spotters in World football and it was responsible for the recruitment which led to both Monaco and then Leal winning the league on title ahead of PSG through signings like James Rodriguez Bernardo Silva Nikola Pepe Raphael and Victor osserman now he is operating with a much larger budget the appointment of Christoph goltier who won the league on title at Lille can be viewed in a similar context as someone who is renowned for giving young players a chance and for having a clear idea of how he wants his teams to play up until now could anyone really pinpoint a style or philosophy that was distinct or unique to PSG whether that be under ancelotti tsukol or pochettino a persistent problem at PSG according to several sources at this stage has been the meddling of Club president Nasser al-kalafi and key to any future success at the very highest level will be football decisions being left to football people who gets to make those decisions however is that other contentious issue which only adds to the internal drama and politics which has plagued the club from boardroom to dressing room level Antero Herrero and Lewis Campos for example were said to have been a loggerheads during the summer transfer window and PSG ended up missing out on all four of their primary Targets in the forms of Milan skrinyar Robert Lewandowski Bernardo Silva and Marcus rashford in January the club missed out on another main target this time Hakim ziash though for rather different reasons in that case there is also evidence that PSG are finally starting to look to their Academy and the wealth of talent right on their doorstep Warren Zaire Emery at the age of 16 has already made 15 first-team appearances this season and became the youngest player in the history of the Champions League knockout stage when he started against Bayern Munich meanwhile 17 year old Elsa deal bit shy Boo has already registered 10 senior appearances they were born in 2005 and 2006 and should form the club's spine for the next decade and Beyond it also cannot be overlooked just in the interest of balance the PSG came very close to winning the Champions League in 2020 losing a 50 50 game in the final against a Bayern Munich team that had absolutely steamrolled their way through to the final smashing the likes of Barcelona Chelsea and Leon that doesn't change the fact that they didn't win that game though they don't have a clear sense of identity or style despite one being so readily available they have failed to capitalize on the Wellspring of local talents that they have been blessed with and the club is a toxic mess at this moment in time currently experiencing their worst run of form in more than a decade PSG are already out of the domestic cup competition a bit of low especially coming at the hands of their Fierce Rivals must say they face an uphill battle to get beyond the round of 16 in the Champions League for a second successive season heading to Munich with a one goal deficit and their next two League games are against high-flying Leo and Marseille they should win both but in their current form who knows psgr only five points ahead of Marseille in the league on table which means the next few games really could be make or break not since their first season under Qatari ownership in the 2011-12 campaign have PSG had a trophyllis season repeating that feat with a front three of Messi Neymar and mbappe a budget which is at least five times that of every other team in France and the highest wage bill in all of world football whilst improbable admittedly at this stage would be almost impressive in a weird sort of way and a damning indictment of the appalling way in which the club has been run the that is it for today's video I hope that you enjoyed it let me know if that was the case and hit the like button if it was that is probably the best way to let me know apparently it's really helpful in some magical algorithm that I I can't conceive let alone understand uh so yeah hit the like button let me know your thoughts Down Below in the comments and make sure you are subscribed to hrtc sevens and have notifications turned on and also for my backup Channel it should be on screen now and you can also find me on social media on either Twitter or Instagram just via the username at hrtc sevens on both should you wish to do so

Channel: HITC Sevens

Views: 279,511

Keywords: HITC Sevens, Football, Soccer, PSG, Paris Saint-Germain, Qatar, Qatari, Wrong, Everything, Documentary, Manchester United, Man Utd, Ownership, Ligue 1, Premier League, Champions League, Money, Messi, Mbappe, Neymar

Id: 224pbl296dI

Length: 26min 58sec (1618 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 19 2023