They lost Messi, Mbappé and Neymar — but may finally win club soccer's biggest prize

Paris Saint-Germain had three of the biggest talents in world soccer yet couldn't win the Champions League. That could change this year with a revamped roster and new manager.

In the summer of 2021, Paris Saint-Germain had seemingly everything it needed to get the one thing it didn’t have: a reputation as one of global soccer’s big winners.

Its roster appeared built out of a video game. Kylian Mbappé, the 22-year-old World Cup champion from France, alongside Brazilian superstar Neymar and, in a breathtaking signing, Lionel Messi, the Argentine many considered the world’s best player of all time. The collection of three of the world’s best goal-scorers — and a total payroll of nearly $430 million — was made possible by the club’s equally staggering resources.

Since 2011, PSG has been owned by an arm of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, which spent freely to establish it among the world’s most accomplished clubs. Although PSG routinely won France’s top soccer division, it had never won the Champions League, Europe’s annual and most prestigious club tournament, and only once played for the title.

By some metrics, the two-year run featuring Mbappé, Messi and Neymar was a smashing success. Star-studded PSG raked in more than $1 billion in revenue, according to the club. But by exiting the Champions League in the round of 16 in 2022 and 2023, and with Mbappé, Neymar and Messi playing together in only about a third of their potential games, PSG never came close to conquering Europe on the field.

All three stars eventually departed, replaced by younger, less expensive successors. For most clubs, that would have signaled the start of a rebuild.