They’re not going away, Paris Saint-Germain. Those two late goals on Valentine’s Day from Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcelo at the Bernabeu, which mean Real Madrid take a 3-1 advantage to the Parc des Princes next week, were greeted in some quarters like a repulsion of the barbarians at the gate and a vindication of the old order of football.
Of course, it always fun to laugh at expensive mistakes. And Paris Saint-Germain appear to be one of the funniest and most expensive.
Their net spend is £786 since 2011 (including the promised £160m for Kylian Mbappe this summer) when Qatar Sports Investments brought them and still the Champions League quarter-finals appears to be the line in the sand which they cannot cross. Lose next week and they will have regressed, to a last-16 exit.
The world record £198m signing of Neymar last summer showed PSG flexing their muscles
They will also pay the £160m balance on striker Kylian Mbappe to Monaco this summer
Giants in France, they remain relative pygmies in Europe. Wednesday night’s game with Marseille ought to be a thrilling clash of France’s football powerhouses.
But PSG are 16 points ahead of their rivals and 14 points clear at the top of the table. The acquisition of Neymar and Mbappe for £360m last summer might have taken the transfer market into a different stratosphere but it appears to makes not a jot of difference in the Champions League.
The last time such hilarity ensued was when Real Madrid went six years without getting past the Champions League last-16 between 2005-2010, despite collecting Galaticos as if they were football stickers to be traded, though Manchester United’s record of one quarter-final since 2012 is worth an honourable mention.
But reality was somewhat lost in the emotion of those late two goals. Not that PSG, now without injured Neymar, are likely to overturn the deficit next week. But one day they will.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Real Madrid took a 3-1 first leg over PSG two weeks ago
Real’s victory in the first leg at the Bernabeu was viewed as a triumph for football’s old order
Whether results reflect it yet or not, there is a new world order in football and Real Madrid and Barcelona need to get in line behind Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
At times in the past the European transfer market seemed to operate like the NFL draft, only Real Madrid and Barca got the first picks every season.
The fact that PSG prised Neymar from Barca last summer was the only one significant indication of the turning tide. Just as significant was Mbappe choosing PSG.
This was the young player everyone in Europe expects to be the world’s next superstar. He has been given a personal tour of Real Madrid by Zinedine Zidane as a youngster. Real Madrid wooed him again this summer when a move was clearly in the offing but were rebuffed.
Then consider Marco Verratti. He was courted by Barca all summer and made it pretty clear he fancied the move.
That was before Nasser Al-Khelaifi, chairman of Qatar Sports Investments, President of PSG and chief executive of Qatari TV giant, beIN Media, told him it wouldn’t happen.
Not even when Neymar was clearly heading the other way, did Verratti become a bargaining chip. Under the old order, Barca would have always got their way.
PSG’s signing of Neymar indicated they were ready to become a force in European football
Barcelona wanted PSG’s Marco Verratti last summer but saw their approach rebuffed
And it’s not as if Qatar Foundation and Qatar Airways still sponsor Barca, though they may yet be a source of income again, so it’s best not to upset them.
If you list just some of the assets of the associated Qatar Investment Authority, such as Harrods, The Shard, Sainsburys (25 per cent) Volkswagen (17 per cent) and Barclays (6 per cent) it becomes clear Barcelona are lesser party in this duel.
It matters because the natural outcome this summer would be for Neymar to abandon the uncompetitive French league and, having used PSG as a firewall from a more incendiary direct move, head to Real Madrid.
Without a Galatico style signing since James in 2014, Real Madrid are clearly in need of a revamp, its triumvirate of strikers injured and/or old. And, outside of Barcelona players, Neymar would be the most-obvious target, a successor to Ronaldo.
A few years ago, there would be an inevitability about such a deal, complete with denials of interest from Florentino Perez and flirtations of admirations from the player himself.
Real Madrid won the Champions League last season – it represents a holy grail for PSG
Real Madrid will undoubtedly come in for Neymar this summer but PSG will certainly resist
Yet life isn’t like that anymore. Neymar can flounce all he wants this summer and his father make demands. Dealing with the Qatar and its investments funds is another level of power. And if they decided he stays – and why wouldn’t they, having invested so much? – that is what will happen.
Manchester City are also part of this equation. It’s significant that Real Madrid never seriously came for Sergio Aguero in recent years, when the Argentine would surely have relished the move. Or that they haven’t been linked with Kevin De Bruyne.
Yet for the last few years and until last month, Cepsa, a Spanish oil company, were to underwrite the redevelopment of the Bernabeu with a £351m naming rights agreement, leaving Perez clear to spend this summer.
The majority owners of Cepsa? Mubadala, who are the sovereign wealth fund of Abu Dhabi. On their board sits a certain Sheikh Mansour as well as City chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak.
Manchester City are the other coming force in European football, under coach Pep Guardiola
City would have the financial clout and status to resist bids for the likes of Kevin de Bruyne
Interesting, according to El Economista in Spain, that deal is now off. It may be that, untangled from City’s ultimate owners, Real Madrid will be free to be more aggressive and resume their usual role at the top of football’s hierarchy.
Yet ultimately pretty much everyone these days wants access to the cash of Abu Dhabi and Qatar.
Prime Minister Theresa May announced £5billion investment in the UK last year, vital post Brexit and adding to the estimated £40m already invested here. By comparison, the memorandum of understanding signed between the FA and Qatar earlier this month is a tiny gesture.
It will be intriguing to see whether Perez tries to rock the boat by taking on either Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain this summer. The reality is he knows probably his place in this world. And it’s no longer at the top. It will take more than a Champions League victory over PSG to change that.