Why the Paris St-Germain project is a failed investment

Dubai: There is a simple answer as to why the Paris St-Germain project by Qatari investors is failing.

Management.

A similar concept was undertaken at Manchester City in 2008 when the club was purchased by Abu Dhabi United Group for £210 million. From nowhere, they won the Premier League in 2012 and 2014.

This is in England where the fight for silverware is much more ferocious with as many as six clubs consistently pushing for the league title every year.

And they are on their way to another title this season, despite the best efforts of Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool), Jose Mourinho (Manchester United), Antonio Conte (Chelsea) and Arsene Wenger (Arsenal).

In France, there is rarely more than one challenger to the crown for PSG to contend with.

And you just have to look at the dug-out to see why City are more successful.

First Roberto Mancini, then Manuel Pellegrini, and now Pep Guardiola.

Even during the tenure of Pellegrini, City did not hide the fact that they were chasing Guardiola, and under the guidance of Khaldoon Al Mubarak, they have moved quickly to tie him down to a long-term project as they have the vision to know he is the right man to deliver more and more trophies for them.

And they have the right men around him for with fellow Barcelona boys Txiki Begiristain as director of football and Mikel Arteta as assistant.

Compare that with the management situation at PSG.

I did a straw poll and found many struggled to name the current boss of the club (Unai Emery at time of publication, but that might well change at any moment).

It looks like Nasser Al-Khelaifi thinks if you buy the best players you “win the Champions League within five years”. That has not happened and no player can win a trophy without a good manager.

When Emery is given his notice, PSG would do well to get the right man in at the top before spending ludicrous amounts on the likes of Neymar and Mbappe.

A certain Mr Wenger will be looking for work soon, and PSG in his native France could be the perfect marriage to get the club to the top spot in Europe.