A nation state once again

Morning.

A quick Sunday blog, starting with last night’s Champions League final and PSG’s 5-0 demolition of Inter. I think it’s true to say that the former were very impressive, and the latter absolutely terrible. You couldn’t help watch with a pang of regret over those early missed chances in the first half of the second leg in Paris, because I think we could have played a bedside lamp up front and beaten Inter had we made the final. Oh well.

As for the winners, well it’s Qatar, and the ultimate aim of their ownership of PSG has come to fruition. Billions spent on transfers, probably more again on wages, and the impact that has had on football is felt by everyone. PSG walk to the French title almost every year, 11 of the last 13 years since the Qatari ownership, but have been a massively inflationary factor for football in general.

The fact they’ve finally won the Champions League with a team that is likeable and enjoyable to watch is an interesting thing to consider. When they tried to do it by spending a fortune on Neymar, Messi, Mbappe etc, it was enjoyable to watch it fail because of how deeply cynical it was. Now they have a young team that plays superb football and isn’t anywhere near as ‘star’ driven, and people’s attitudes soften.

Which, I guess, is exactly what sportswashing is supposed to do if that’s the way you want to look at it. Personally, I cannot stand what the club has become, but this PSG team is a lot of fun to watch. The youth, the energy and quality of their football, players who have come through their academy almost make it feel like a refreshing antidote to their previous incarnations. I won’t lie, I was chatting to people about them last night and wishing that Arsenal could be a bit more like that in terms of playing style and their focus on attacking power.

And yet, they’re this good because of the money and the source of the money. Everyone loves to watch Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and for good reason. He’s amazing, and a player whose €80m transfer fee from Napoli made him ‘available’ – on paper anyway – to more than just PSG. However, I strongly suspect there’s only one club (Man City) who could have competed with the wages on offer. Much like the way the Erling Haaland transfer fee wasn’t outrageous on its own, the finances behind the public numbers make it the kind of deal only a club owned by a nation state can realistically pull off.

Desiree Doue, wow – what a talent. Two goals and an assist in the Champions League final at 19 years of age. Incredible. Yet he was plucked from Rennes as an 18 year old with a €50m transfer fee. A classic example of the big dog in one league taking whoever they want from the teams below them. How can a club like Rennes ever resist that? You might say ‘Well, that’s the game and that’s how transfers work’, but it’s just a bit of added context.

I said when we played PSG in the semi-finals that they were by some distance the best team we played all season. My Liverpool supporting brother said the same thing after they’d played them and been beaten over two legs. I stand by it. They are a fantastic team, there’s a lot to like about how they play the game, and what they produce. In an era when football has become a bit too robotic, where players are wedded to systems and prescribed patterns of play rather than expression and improvisation, that’s something to acknowledge.

And yet, before they played the second leg against us, they were able to rest their entire team because they had a 20 point at the top of Ligue 1. They win games more easily than you can in the Premier League because the league is less competitive. Or, at least, the gulf between them and the majority of their opponents is far bigger than it is for the best English teams. It’s down to the money. They might be young (relatively speaking), but they’re hardly underdogs. So, I dunno. I’ll leave it up to you to decide how you feel about it. The biggest ever scoreline in a Champions League final; a superb performance; some truly brilliant players; a manager who has done an incredible job; and a great big BUT at the heart of it all.

Some of you like big buts, and I cannot lie, but for others you can recognise the talent and the ability and still feel uneasy about how it all came to pass. However, the stable door is open, the horse has bolted, and I don’t know what anyone can do about it now.

Have a great Sunday.