Paris Saint-Germain crashed out of the Champions League in the last 16 with a 3-0 aggregate defeat to Bayern Munich.
They had hoped to overturn a 1-0 first leg deficit but lost 2-0 in the return leg after goals from Eric Choupo-Moting and Serge Gnabry.
It is a desperate situation for PSG to find themselves in. Repeated Ligue 1 titles feel hollow considering their investment in comparison to the competition, with the Champions League the dream trophy for their mega-rich owners.
Now after another season of ‘failure’, without mounting a serious challenge, there are fresh fears surrounding the club, linked to Manchester United.
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PSG ‘fear’ Manchester United takeover
The manner of PSG’s exit was particularly galling. They failed to score a goal over two legs, despite having Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi in the team, and Neymar available in the first leg.
There are all sorts of question marks hanging over the futures of their top stars, including Mbappe, who made the decision to stay last summer, rather than join Real Madrid.
Now as reported by European newspaper Sport, in an article published after their defeat to Bayern, it is reported that a potential Manchester United takeover by Qatari investors will spook PSG further.
Sport report: “A new ghost appears on the horizon for PSG that can destroy all plans for the future. The purchase of Manchester United that Qatar plans can shake the foundations of a PSG that can see how its great supporter changes the spotlight in search of a winning project that has failed so much in Paris.
“From Qatar they are betting strongly on the purchase of the English team, something that could divert a lot of the attention that is being paid to PSG from the upper echelons of the Asian country.”
There’s a lot to unpack from that. United are subject to a takeover offer from Qatari investor Sheikh Jassim, a private investor.
He is not officially connected to the QSI project – but there is a valid point that the attention on Manchester United would dominate discussion in Qatar, at PSG’s expense.
There have also been some Instagram posts from Kylian Mbappe which have mysteriously linked to Manchester United over the past month.
PSG are right to be spooked. Whether there are any links between Sheikh Jassim and QSI is immaterial, it’s the fear that there might be, which is creating a scare in Paris.
They know their project is being deemed as a failure, considering the money spent, that they have failed to win the Champions League again and only reached the final once.
There is nothing more scary for them than the money being pulled, the stars leaving, and being back at square one. Manchester United’s potential sale to Qatari investors combined with their latest elimination, adds fuel to the fire.
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