The history of the 2025 UEFA Champions League victory for PSG began in 2011 when the Qatar backed investment fund took over Paris Saint-Germain. It altered the French footballing landscape significantly. All of a sudden, Paris were capable of big signings without thinking twice.
For more than a decade the money spent did not deliver the biggest of returns in European club football: the champions league trophy. The amount spent goes into several millions. The hubris reached its climax with the signing of Neymar, for whom PSG, or rather the Qatar Investment Fund, spent €200m.
The names of the players, read now, resemble more like an assembly of brands rather than players: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Beckham, Dani Alves, Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi and Neymar. However, the biggest brand among the players always eluded them: Cristiano Ronaldo.
Upon their return on the big stage, the hopes were immense, yet always the Parisians ended up second best. Often deservedly so, sometimes cruel – the penalty by Marcus Rashford comes to mind; it is said to have had a lasting effect on Marquinhos. Of all the players it is him, the captain who deserves this trophy and victory the most.
On the coaching side, some of the biggest names in football have been hired yet failed to deliver in Europe. Carlo Ancelotti has proven that he can win – and not only once – at Real Madrid. So did Thomas Tuchel and Unai Emery. The latter and his current club, Aston Villa, were eliminated by PSG en route to the final. Emery has also proven that he is able to deliver and win European trophies: he won the Europa League four times, three consecutive times with Sevilla between 2014 and 2016 as well as with Villareal in 2021. Wedged in between is his spell at PSG that saw him wininng the domestic treble in 2018. Thomas Tuchel has won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021 a year after he reached the final with PSG and lost to Bayern. It must be said that the format was adapted in 2020 as the Corona pandemic allowed only limited play from March onwards. This is to show that PSG for a long time were not a functionning team – despite the big names.