You can’t have your cake and eat it. Or, to put it in footballing parlance, you can’t spend obscene sums of money of some of the most high-profile footballers on Planet Earth and not expect a trade-off somewhere.
And, as PSG have discovered, the downside to signing the Messis, the Neymars and the Mbappes of the world is that some of the most exciting young talent in Europe are going to start wondering if they are better off elsewhere.
And, as this rather star-studded XI shows, sometimes the grass is greener on the other side.
Mike Maignan
Now one of Europe’s finest goalkeepers, Maignan helped Lille win their first Ligue 1 title in a decade last season – at Paris Saint-Germain’s expense. The irony doesn’t stop there either.
His current side, AC Milan, climbed to the Serie A summit via a 1-0 win at fellow challengers Napoli last weekend. That means Maignan could achieve what PSG’s Gianluca Donnarumma never did – Scudetto glory with the Rossoneri.
Timothee Pembele
As recently as January 2021, Goal.com penned an article about 18-year-old ‘wonderkid’ Pembele, describing the teenage defender as ‘perhaps the leading light of this current crop of PSG academy graduates’.
A regular first-team role felt like only a matter of time. That was, of course, until Les Parisiens splashed out £60 million on Achraf Hakimi six months later.
Pembele joined Bordeaux on loan, a deal that is expected to could permanent in the summer.
Tanguy Kouassi
Kouassi shot to fame with two goals as an 18-year-old in a thrilling 4-4 draw with Amiens in early-2020. It was his ability at the other end of the pitch, however, which had Thomas Tuchel raving about the teenager’s potential, labelling him a ‘great’ talent.
But, like so many before him, Kouassi obviously felt that there was no obvious pathway to the first-team at PSG. He joined Bayern Munich after turning down a new deal.
Ferland Mendy
It was always going to take someone special to take over from the legendary Marcelo at Real Madrid. Mendy, however, is the Matt Smith to Marcelo’s David Tennant; Different, yes, but a brilliant, potentially era-defining talent in his own right.
We could have included Fode Ballo-Toure here. Like Mendy, he is now plying his trade at another European giant; AC Milan.
Boubakary Soumare
Soumare might have struggled for consistency since joining Leicester City but, like Maignan and another former PSG starlet Jonathan Ikone, he was a key cog in Lille’s 2021 title-winning machine.
Likened to Paul Pogba due to his combination of athleticism and style, Soumare could still prove to be a snip for the Foxes at £20 million.
Matteo Guendouzi
Arguably the most in-form French midfielder currently playing in Ligue 1 is at Marseille, not the Parc des Princes. Guendouzi was bombed out of Arsenal due to concerns over his attitude, rather than his ability. But he has set about proving Mikel Arteta wrong, blossoming into a leader on and off the pitch under Jorge Sampaoli.
Marseille confirmed last week that Guendouzi has signed a permanent deal at the Stade Velodrome.
Christopher Nkunku
One of the most prolific midfielders in Europe, the dazzling Nkunku has scored more goals this season (25) than Lionel Messi, Neymar and Mauro Icardi combined.
It seems only a matter of time before Nkunku is following in the footsteps of Timo Werner and Naby Keita and co, leaving the Red Bull finishing school to continue his education elsewhere.
Kingsley Coman
Talk about showing your old employers what they’re missing. Coman poured a Salt Bae’s portion of seasoning into gaping PSG wounds two years ago, scoring the winner against the club where he started his career in the 2020 Champions League final.
Joining Bayern Munich after a brief stint at Juventus, Coman has won pretty much everything that’s worth winning at club level.
Moussa Diaby
Like Nkunku, Diaby is emerging as one of European football’s next attacking superstars in the Bundesliga. In fact, the jet-heeled winger has been so impressive at Bayer Leverkusen that, according to reports, Newcastle United have been told it will take 100 million euros to lure him away from the Bay Arena.
Just for context, PSG sold Diaby for just £13.5 million.
Moussa Dembele
We could have chosen Odsonne Edouard to lead the line in this very hypothetical XI. But the nod goes to another young striker who rose through the ranks at PSG before making his name in the green-and-white hoops of Celtic.
A year after leaving Paris for Fulham, Dembele now leads the line at Lyon.
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