After six years of collaboration, and while Luis Campos seemed to want to part with him a year earlier, PSG sold Neymar to Al-Hilal for €90 million in the summer of 2023. A sum which was immediately reinvested in the Randal Kolo Muani operation which borders on a fiasco a year and a half later. Is this the biggest disaster for Paris Saint-Germain under QSI? This is our poll of the day!
Neymar remains to this day the most expensive recruit in the history of football and PSG. In 2017, the Brazilian left his bags at Paris through the payment of the release clause present in his old contract of FC Barcelona set at €222M. In 2023, the Auriverde star with 118 goals for the capital club brought in €90 million through his sale to Al–Hilal in Saudi Arabia. In the last moments of the summer transfer window in question, the president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi achieved his goals with l'Eintracht Francfort by spending around €90M for the transfer of Randal Cole Muani.
Kolo Muani replaces Neymar for €90M, the worst recruit of the QSI era?
It is clear that over time, the attacker profile that is Randal Cole Muani definitely does not enter into the plans of Luis Enrique. The Spanish coach, appointed head of the Parisian squad a few weeks before the transfer of First Class au Paris Saint–Germainhas only left him with crumbs since the start of the season. And this, despite the injury of Gonçalo Ramos on the ankle from the first day of the championship Havre (4-1). Worse, the French international's name was not listed on the last three PSG match sheets for Lens in French Cup (1-1 then 4-3 on penalties), theAS Monaco in Ligue 1 (4-2) and againstOL also in the championship (3-1).
Announced on departure at the Juventus or in England on the side of Manchester United and of West Ham from this winter, First Class could well be the biggest fiasco in the history of PSG since the start of the project QSI launched following the takeover of the club by the Qataris in 2011.
Kolo Muani and the rest of the world?
However, there are many operations which have not borne fruit for the PSG. Whether on a purely and simply sporting or financial level which did not justify the investment made for said maneuver on the transfer market. In addition to the €90M for Randal Cole Muanithe Paris Saint–Germain also spent €60M in 2023 for Manuel Ugarte. The midfielder was not retained by the club at the end of his first season and left for Manchester United.
In 2020, a year after a convincing loan, Mauro Icardi was permanently transferred to PSG for €50M. But from then on and until his departure for Galatasaray in 2022, the Argentinian was no longer the same, thus not justifying his transfer. In a similar situation, we find many other players likeIdrissa Gueye which never really met expectations over time after its €30M transfer in 2019, the same for Abdou Diallo and its 32M€ or even Thilo Kehrer and its 37M€.
In 2018, the PSG also spent €47M in total for Leandro Paredes which has been irregular over the years. The bet of Luis Campos in 2022 for Hugo Ekitike and its 35M€ did not pay off like that of 18M€ for Carlos Soler. In January 2017, the Paris Saint–Germain paid €37 million for six months of Julian Draxler before Neymar et Kylian Mbappé come to overshadow him the following summer. Without forgetting the disappointments Gonçalo Guedes, Jese Rodriguez, David Luiz or even Grzegorz Krychowiak.
Which is therefore the most disastrous operation of the era QSI au PSG ?
