For Paris Saint-Germain, it has become an all too familiar story: suffering an early exit from the tournament means more to them than any other tournament.
The French giants’ Champions League hopes for another season came to an end, as a 3-0 aggregate defeat by Bayern Munich meant that one of the world’s richest clubs would never again be able to call themselves the kings of Europe.
Wednesday’s defeat may not have been the emotional punch for the previous exit – think of 2017, when Barcelona overturned a 4-0 deficit in the first leg by beating PSG 6-1 at the Camp Nou, or even last year when PSG were leading 2- 0. In total with half an hour to play for Real Madrid only to concede three goals in 17 minutes against Karim Benzema.
But the effect will still be felt strongly. here, the athlete Considers potential influences on and off the field.
What is the value of the Champions League award?
A club entering the Champions League group stage earns €15.64m (£13.9m, $16.4m). Then they get €2.8m for each win in the group stage and €930,000 for a tie.
Paris Saint-Germain won four times and drew twice on its way to the last 16, earning 13 million euros. Qualifying for the next stage netted them €9.6m, so before kicking the ball against Bayern Munich, PSG had racked up €38.3m in prize money.
But it could have been so much more than that. Qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Champions League earns a €10.6m bonus, a semi-final place is an additional €12.5m and reaching the final provides a cash boost of €15.5m. The club that wins the tournament can expect to receive a bonus of 4.5 million euros.
That’s not all. A place in the UEFA Super Cup – a match between the winners of the Champions League and Europa League – is worth 3.5 million euros. If you win the Super Cup, the reward is €1 million, while winning the FIFA Club World Cup (a tournament between different continental champions) the reward is €4.6 million.
In total, that could be €52.2m that PSG missed out on in prize money alone.
Is that too much for a club like PSG?
Well, no. Since it is owned by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), a subsidiary of the state-run sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority, the loss of this kind of money ultimately does not significantly affect the club’s finances.
However, it would have been beneficial from a Financial Fair Play (FFP) perspective.
PSG had to pay UEFA €20m in 2014 in the first round of FFP cases with UEFA, and in September they were ordered not to comply with a tie-breaking deal between 2018 and 2022.
They were ordered to pay €10m unconditionally – either directly or through revenue earned from participating in UEFA club competition – with €55m depending on compliance with future targets over three years.
Not the biggest amounts, then, every little bit helps.
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So where is the cost?
In the first place, in reputation. A squad full of star names should not fail to reach the Champions League quarter-finals, but it is becoming an increasingly familiar story.
Since the 2012-13 season, PSG have only reached the semi-finals twice and the final once (2019-20). Tonight’s last-16 exit is the fifth time they have left before the quarter-finals in the past seven years.
Paris Saint-Germain brokers know that only by winning the elite club competition in Europe will their great sporting project actually achieve its sporting ambitions, despite the presence of prominent names such as Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi after they have already moved to a new level in the club. Follow-up conditions.
After the World Cup, where Mbappe and Messi dominated the finals of France and Argentina and Achraf Hakimi helped Morocco reach the semi-finals, it was hoped that the second half of PSG’s season would be something to remember.
Instead, they cracked again when the pressure held. Anything that follows – including, probably, a ninth Ligue 1 title in 11 years – it will be no consolation.
So what happens now?
Attention is likely to go to their head coach Christophe Galtier and Luis Campos, the football advisor who appointed Galtier after the departure of Mauricio Pochettino last July.
Mbappe, whose contract expires in 2025 after signing a new three-year contract last summer, will want to cement his status as the best player in the world. You could already argue that he’s ahead of any of his rivals, but the Champions League will elude him for at least another season.
The inside track of PSG’s Champions League failure
The good news for PSG is that after losing the first leg in February, Mbappe has made it clear that his future at the club is not linked to success in Europe.
“If I linked my future to the Champions League, without wanting to show disrespect for the club, I would have left long ago,” said the 24-year-old. “I don’t think this match will have an impact. I’m here and I’m very happy to be here.
“I’m not thinking about anything other than making PSG successful.”
The cushion of his contract and recent statements he has made will be a tonic for those within the club, but continued failure in Europe will only hasten his departure.
Messi is reaching the final stages of his career and his future is still in doubt. His deal expires in the summer, though he is set to extend his stay in the French capital.
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(Top photo: Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
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