The final scene was so fitting that for a moment you wondered if Kylian Mbappé had done it on purpose. He was on the cusp of Paris Saint-Germain winning the Champions League. Once again, the dreams of European glory that had driven the club for more than a decade were dashed.
Suddenly, there he was, scoring a goal. The lightbulb moment of the best player in the world and a symbol of his homeland who has come to symbolize PSG's ambition, ability, excess and arrogance was just around the corner. And then, with Dortmund's defiant backline trailing helplessly in his furious wake, Mbappe slipped on his feet.
No tackles, no fouls, no interventions. He just fell down. He would not have achieved his goal. He wouldn't be a hero. But at least he offers a perfect allegory, not only for the seven years he spent at his hometown club, but also for the gorgeous, transformative, yet deeply flawed project he came to represent. was.
It remains to be seen whether that will be Mbappé's last act as a PSG player. He has not started a Ligue 1 game in over a month. However, there is no doubt that it will be his last meaningful appearance.
Luis Enrique's side wrapped up the Ligue 1 title a while ago, despite an atmosphere of inconvenience and apologetics throughout the proceedings. The next few weeks will be nothing more than a bureaucratic necessity, a short hiatus before the summer's international business. At some point, Mbappé will probably leave for Real Madrid and PSG will be left with only memories.
It's even harder to determine what to document. Indeed, Mbappé has scored a lot of goals during his time in Paris, with his latest count of 255 goals in 306 games. He has also accumulated trophies: 6 French titles, 3 French Cups, 2 French League Cups and other individual awards. He became rich beyond anyone's imagination. His prominence also gave him some political power. He dines with the French president at the Elysée Palace more often than, say, Layvin Kurzawa.
But it's hard to avoid the suspicion that Mbappé's seven seasons in Paris will become defined more by his absence than his presence. He was brought to Paris in the spring, just like Neymar before him and Lionel Messi after him. His achievements were to be built on the Champions League final, which PSG values above all else.
His return to football was impressive on the surface: he scored 20 goals on football's greatest stage. However, this number requires a little background.
Mbappe scored six goals in a deluge en route to the semi-finals in 2021 and has scored five more in this year's adventure. Often he turned out to be a peripheral figure. (The contrast with international football is apt and stark: by the age of 24, Mbappé had dominated two World Cup finals.)
The same goes for his team. PSG's defense has recently established itself as a real force in the Champions League. They have advanced to the semifinals three of the past five years. In 2020, the club finally reached the finals despite the unusual circumstances forced into the competition by the pandemic.
But never having crossed the line and within reach of a trophy is a source of not only considerable embarrassment but also real existential tension for the world's richest club – or at least it is. Should–. PSG was acquired by a division of the Qatari state as a project aimed at winning the Champions League.
To that end, Qatar has made tremendous acquisitions of players, from Edinson Cavani, David Luiz, Thiago Silva and Javier Pastore to Angel Di Maria and Mauro Icardi, as well as Messi and Randal Kolo Muani. We have invested a huge amount of money. The total cost easily runs into the billions of dollars.
The most important of that cast, of course, is Neymar, who was poached from Barcelona in 2017 for around $240 million. The reward represented not only the Brazilian's talent, but also his value to his new employer.
The world record price was aimed at beating European soccer above all else. PSG paid that much money in part because they hoped the transfer market would be big enough for only two Manchester clubs to compete. The remaining old teams, Real Madrid, Barcelona and all the other teams, will risk going bankrupt if they try to keep up the pace. It was a move intended to change the world.
Of course, in hindsight we can see that it didn't work. At best, Neymar was a tourist in PSG's first team. A few years later, Messi arrived from Barcelona heartbroken and indifferent. Mbappe, the most expensive domestic product in history, has gradually become a luxury affair. Whether he doesn't want to play a certain position or is ineffective in others, his influence can extend beyond the team and into its recruiting policies.
Sometime last year, the club's hierarchy accepted their mistakes much later than everyone else.A decree was issued to break the club Galactico. The era is over. PSG will now reinvent itself as a haven for young French, especially Parisian talent. Club captain Marquinhos said after the defeat against Dortmund: “We can't throw everything away just because we were eliminated.'' “This is a new project and a new coach.”
It's a down-to-earth and admirable stance, and one that the club would have done well to adopt nearly a decade ago, but it leaves one fairly obvious question unanswered.
Qatar have spent billions of dollars on PSG so far, and will likely have to spend even more to tear it down and start again without Neymar, Messi and Mbappe.
In doing so, it has not only turned French football into a wasteland, a league without competition, but also distorted the landscape of European football more broadly, all in the hopes of winning the prize it never got. Noda. It was almost worthless. It wasn't what anyone would describe as an insightful investment. After all, what was this for?
luck of the draw
To call Mats Hummels a veteran seems like an understatement. Although the defender is only 35 years old, it is very difficult to imagine that football would exist without him. It should come as no great surprise to learn that he is present in images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope, elegantly emerging from the Pillars of Creation with a ball at his feet.
He also showed a distinctly youthful glee at Borussia Dortmund's passage to the Champions League final. After Dortmund defeated Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals and Bayern Munich defeated Arsenal in the quarter-finals, he wrote on social platform It became an attack on those who do.
He returned after Dortmund won in Paris and secured a place in next month's final. “So many teams wanted to play us,” he posted. “Fortunately, we are really good guys and made it to the finals to give as many people as possible a chance.”
It's hard to begrudge Hummels for smiling a little. Both legs were intact in the semi-final against PSG He is assessed as having a bust flush about once every three months, but this has been going on for years. And certainly, Dortmund's opponents in this year's finals would probably have considered Hummels and his team the worst possible option.
At the same time, there is no doubt that this draw played some role in delivering Dortmund to Wembley. Reaching the round of 16 was not an easy hurdle for reigning Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven, but it was not as difficult as Inter Milan or PSG. Dortmund, like the Spanish side, were grateful to host Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals.
This is not to diminish Dortmund's achievements, nor to suggest that their uplifting and inspiring run to the final was some kind of fluke. Quite the opposite. However, although no one wants to admit it, a draw in the final tournament is important. Some paths have more difficult terrain than others.
Or at least they did. This season will be the last time there will be an “open” draw in the Champions League after the quarter-finals. Starting next year, there will be a seeding system similar to tennis.
The appeal in theory is that this is a more reliable way to discover the two strongest rivals – think of the final between Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. –However, the downside is that a story like Dortmund's is much less likely to happen. It compares the weight of the dice to theirs. Doing so takes a little more of the wonder out of the tournament.
age is just a number
Good news: The eight nominees for the Premier League Young Player of the Year award have been announced. The bad news: Four of his candidates are vying for the season overall player award. Two of them have already won the Young Player Award. In fact, he was the only winner in 2021, making the entire award completely meaningless.
It is clear, and has been clear for a very long time, that standards of honor need to change. Now the rules are very simple. He will be eligible to any player 23 years old or younger at the start of the season. And at the end of the day, that's what matters. The rules can be a little more or more complex.
For example, it makes much more sense to center qualifications on experience rather than age. One of this year's nominees, Bukayo Saka, has made 225 appearances for Arsenal. He has played for England for several years. Another candidate, Manchester City's Phil Foden, has won 16 major honours. He's just shy of his 300th senior appearance. They are by no means wide-eyed newcomers.
Similarly, those who have already won an award should also be disqualified. That would exclude Foden (who has already won two for crying out loud) and teammate Erling Haaland, who won last year. Haaland achieved this at the same time as winning the (overall) Player of the Year award. This absurdity could be prevented by making it clear that players cannot be designated as both.
It is clear that the award should be given to the Premier League's new players, but it would be better to redesign the award to be equivalent to Rookie of the Year. This means it is only awarded to players who have spent their first few seasons in the division, rather than to new players in the Premier League. Someone who settled many years ago.