Can Paris Saint-Germain Finally Win the Champions League?
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The 2024/25 football season is reaching its apex, and now is the time when the silverware is claimed. The majority of Europe's league title race looks to be all but over, with Liverpool a million miles clear of Arsenal in the Premier League, Bayern well ahead of Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, and Paris Saint-Germain already confirmed as champions in France. But there are still red-hot title races in both Italy and Spain that look set to go down to the wire, as well as three UEFA competitions that are also in their latter stages.
With the campaign set to come to an end with the Champions League final on May 31st, each club's own respective story is going to wind up. But is this the most interesting of them heading into the final few weeks of the campaign? Let's take a look.
PSG's Continental Woes
While Paris Saint-Germain has ruled over French football with an iron fist since their Qatari-backed takeover back in 2011, their quest for a maiden UEFA Champions League crown has been a frustrating one. This term though, online soccer odds providers think it could finally be by the Parisians' year. The latest online soccer odds currently make PSG a narrow +225 second favorite to claim the famous big-eared trophy this year, just behind the +200 outright favorite Barcelona.
But the club's road to the point of becoming a genuine tournament contender has been a long and arduous one. Between 2013 and 2017, PSG suffered four straight quarter-final exits despite being well-fancied to progress. They then changed course, bringing in superstars Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, but things got even worse as the Parisians bowed out in the Round of 16 for three years in a row.
They did manage to reach the final in the global events-affected campaign of 2020, but that would end in heartbreak at the hands of Bayern Munich. Then, PSG brought in arguably the greatest player of all time in the form of Lionel Messi, and outlets such as Bodog instantly installed them as the favorites for glory. But not even a strike force of the Argentinian genius, Neymar, and Mbappe could make it past the second round.
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18 months ago, the club cut their losses. Messi was allowed to leave on a free to Inter Miami, while the club managed to recoup €90m for the injury-prone Neymar. Then, Mbappe left last summer, and that was supposed to curtail any hopes that the club had of winning European football's most prestigious prize. Instead, though, manager Luis Enrique has changed the entire philosophy of the club, creating a brilliant team rather than solo stars, and the results have spoken for themselves.
Luis Enrique's Rebuild
Former Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has already enjoyed plenty of success throughout his career. He famously led the Blaugrana to the treble in 2015, with Messi, Neymar, and Luis Suarez providing too hot for Juventus to handle in that year's Champions League final. Fast forward a decade, and the Spanish boss has managed to navigate the post-Mbappe Paris era better than anyone could have imagined.
His marquee signing last summer was the €50m addition of Ousmane Dembele, a man who never truly lived up to the hype after leaving Borussia Dortmund for the Camp Nou for €145m eight years ago. Now 27 years old, he finally seems to have come of age and has found a home back in his homeland.
Playing centrally rather than on either flank, the former Rennes star has bagged 32 goals in 41 games in all competitions this term and is the favorite to win the Ballon d’Or. But it has been far from a one-man show at the Parc Des Princes.
He is joined up front by academy product Désiré Doué, who has emerged as one of the hottest young talents in the game today. Napoli superstar Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was also signed in January and he has taken PSG to another level, while the midfield trio of Joao Neves, Vitinha, and Fabian Ruiz is capable of running rings around any opposition midfield on the planet.
Can They Finally Get Over the Line?
PSG stumbled somewhat through the initial league phase. Defeats to Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, and Bayern Munich left them in danger of elimination, but they managed to squeeze through. In the knockout playoff round, they finally clicked into life, thumping compatriots Brest 10-0 on aggregate, but it wasn't until the Round of 16 that the Parisians were considered genuine contenders.
There, they met Premier League leaders Liverpool, and it was the Reds that were the favorites to progress. Those odds were even more in the English side's favor when they managed to steal a 1-0 win in the Parc Des Princes in the first leg. However, Dembele managed to square things up in the second leg at Anfield, allowing goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to become the hero in the penalty shootout, saving twice and ensuring his side progressed.
It looks like two more English sides will be PSG's opponents on the road to Munich. They are already 3-1 up against Aston Villa after the first leg of the quarter-finals, while a mouthwatering clash against Arsenal could lie in wait in the semi-finals, with the Gunners three goals to the good against reigning champions Real Madrid.
The Ligue 1 champions will be the favorites to progress past both of those and then, all roads will lead to Munich on May 31st. Will they finally get their hands on the trophy for the first time ever? Or, will it be yet another disappointment on the grandest stage? Only time will tell.