How The Qataris Have Got Everything Wrong At PSG

When the Emir of Qatar bought Paris Saint-Germain through Qatar Sports Investment, he inadvertently struck gold.
The Île-de-France region in which Paris is based, and where PSG are the only top flight football club, has been the world's finest wellspring of talent since then - but PSG's Qatari ownership model has failed to capitalise on it.
So in this video, HITC Sevens takes a look at how PSG have been grossly mismanaged despite their enormous resources since 2011, what they should have done instead, and what some of this might mean in light of Qatari interest in taking over from the Glazers at Manchester United.

[@PassivesAbseits]

The major problem on the pitch is still, that Messi, Neymar and Mbappé put in 0 effort against the ball. It was really amazing how Paris had no other option than defending around their own penalty box against Bayern Munich, because they just can't apply any pressure on the ball. You just can't win the Champions League playing like that. You can cover for 1 guy not playing defense (as the Cristiano Ronaldo iterations of Real Madrid proved 3 times in a row), but 3 is just too many. Let's hope they never realize that and keep getting those kind of stars for their frontline...

[@eleonarcrimson858]

Ikr there is just no way you have 3 players in front doing nothing off the ball while playing modern teams who press like their life depend on it and high defense lines that would literally just outnumber your players in your own half.

[@Eibarwoman]

This would explain why Isco is a free agent can also be explained in the same problem as the PSG inability to win due to having both Neymar and Mbappe where the team is better the more Neymar is injured.

[@NomaHirudo]

Especially with neymar and messi. As soon as mbappe entered the game, bayern munchen decided to stop existing. Too bad it was too late. Mbappe is comparable only to Pele, the rest of footballers are rests!

[@Leonardohummel]

completly spot on comment

[@sld1776]

You can have ONE passenger in the press and still work as a team. Two passengers limit your tactical options to a great degree; three break your team.

[@AI-di7ll]

Love the little Coman section, one of my favourite players. Unreal talent, unreal physicality, blighted by injuries and so nearly out of the game on a whole but he's achieved so much and contributed to so much.

[@herbertunkraut]

I wish he wasn't as good as he is, he is the least likable player since Ribery.

[@JJJackson777]

that boy is different gravy, i'm hoping he get's going at 25-30

[@nishant54]

​@@herbertunkrautHe is very good. He beat messi twice first by taking ball away from messi for mbappe 2nd goal and scoring in 1st leg of cl against psg.

[@herbertunkraut]

@@nishant54 i'm not saying he isn't good. He is obviously great. He is just human garbage. Hate him as a person.

[@AI-di7ll]

@@JJJackson777 you're in luck cos he's recently turned 26

[@Di7manya]

The biggest problem they have imo with their FIFA/PES career mode style galactico signings is that they put an insane amount of pressure on the manager while limiting his options. When you have Neymar, Mbappe and Messi upfront and you are 1-0 down, who do you sub off? Literally all of them can potentially through individual brilliance win you the game, but how do you choose? Let alone the fact that you will get chewed off by the bosses at the club (and the players themselves) if whatever choice you make doesn't pay off. You also know that whoever is on the bench isn't going to be anywhere as good as any of them (especially since top players wouldn't sign for you to be backups to players that like to play like 99% of the games), so what then? You make the easy choice and take out a midfielder/defender, which only unbalances the team further and probably doesn't even work. Its a similar problem to what Barcelona had with the "MSN" (tho Suarez was a pressing monster, giving the attack much more balance). Whenever the team was in trouble, the first sub Luis Enrique would always make was Rakitic out to bring in whoever (normally Pedro or Rafinha or Xavi) because you couldn't sub off any of the front 3 regardless of their form, and he wasn't going to take off Iniesta, so he always took the easiest way out. This is why so many galactico style attacks fail. The manager really doesn't have any options and if they care about keeping their job, they'll have to take the easiest one that is probably the one that is the least smart from a football perspective.

[@alinpetrescu2309]

That is a good analysis, very interesting. I agree, managers that have so many stars in the line-up have a real challenge when it comes to subbing off or choosing the starting 11.

[@valvevac-systemchecker3773]

The issue is as well nowadays that front 3 just doesn’t work well, because the lack of pressing, when you got neymar running against 3 defenders and 1 goalie on the backline while messi is just sitting an watching, you’re wasting your energy. Same for Mbappe, he doesn’t press much either leaving them to defend from the penalty spot.

[@jamescooper3739]

Something interesting about ajax as well, when they got to the champions league semi finals, the uefa prize money for their run was split evenly with the whole eredivse per ajax's request, and they have done that a few times They also strived to merge their league with the belgian league That for me is a key difference, the fact that they know the best thing for them is a competitive domestic league, something else maybe psg should look at

[@AI-di7ll]

That's actually a good idea, the difference in quality between the top eredivisie teams like Ajax and PSV and the bottom teams is far too much. Same with the Belgian pro league.

[@jamescooper3739]

@@AI-di7ll the idea of Anderlecht, brugge, and Gent in the same title race as Feyenoord, ajax, psv is really exciting, and hopefully puts the league in the "big 5" when it happens in i think 2025 Also, the 2 countries combined is still smaller than england, and probably cheaper to travel between, so there isn't a really significant effect on the fan or player travel times either

[@afellownerd]

Is that merger still happening?

[@jamescooper3739]

@@afellownerd yeah, 2025/26 season I think

[@muunke]

no they didn't this is just wrong

[@chlcrk]

That Grace Robertson Tweet is kind of what Perez wanted Real Madrid to be in his first spell - the so-called Zidanes y Pavones move, which is superstars and academy grads combined in harmony. It may not have yielded as many trophies as it could've done, especially as by the end they were signing just random stars, but that huge deposit of youth talent in the Paris city area could've made that vision a European success story here rather than cobbling together expensive stars

[@jakelennon5299]

Would love a video looking into Austrian team FC Tirol Innsbruck. They existed for 9 years, winning the Austrian title for 3 consecutive years before filing for bankruptcy and folding. Their manager in their final season? One certain Mr Joachim Lowe. Can't believe it's not a more well-known story! Would love to see your notes on it.

[@dronesclubhighjinks]

Oooh I've never heard of this! Sounds potentially juicy! I would also like to see a video on this please!

[@StylistecS]

Jus looked it up. How did that happen?

[@Alfie_1]

Would be phenomenal if Marseille won the Ligue 1 title. French football has often had eras where one team dominates, then another takes over, potentially, though unlikely due to the funding disparities, PSG could end up being just another Lyon of the 2000s, Marseille of the early 1990s, or St Etienne of the 1960s and 1970s.

[@escape2nirvana]

Problem is none of those eras were funded by an oil state. Just shows how much those oil goons actually know and care about football that they think money works always

[@Alfie_1]

@@escape2nirvana exactly, it would just end up fitting the trend of the league, purely because of poor management.

[@Eibarwoman]

@@escape2nirvana I think the oil state funding doesn't save PSG from poor roster construction/mismanagement.

[@escape2nirvana]

@@Eibarwoman fair the only difference is their planning and poor decision are even more costly

[@Eibarwoman]

@@escape2nirvana The problem for a poorly constructed oil club is there's likely a floor where they likely still make Europe.

[@insane9473]

The main problem isnt that MNM doesnt press, its that the PSG midfield cannot even string a few passes together to get them the ball. Vitinha has been shocking since the world cup and Veratti has been in and out of the lineup.

[@dominikfraaanjuan]

I agree. One of the Problem why these "Super Team" can't succeed is because they're unbalanced AF, MNM is very strong in the Forward Area, but their Midfield(except maybe Veratti) is lacking and their Backline is unbalanced. In paper MNM is stronger than what most European Top Team can pull off, but their other areas are lacking and their substitution were a huge fall off from the Starting XI. If your team is just depending on your forward scoring as much goal as possible, you're fucked.

[@brandonjablasone7544]

When has Messi and Neymar ever press? When has Ronaldo ever press? World class players don't press. They float and receive the ball. You only need 1 or 2 world class talent in a team. The rest of the team can build of them

[@Damian_1989]

I think something similar happened to Real Madrid in the decade between the ninth and tenth Champions League, where their obsession with La Décima caused them to focus excessively on their "Galácticos" strategy of signing superstars. They had weird exits in early rounds against smaller rivals like Lyon, while Barsa had their best years under Guardiola.

[@mitonaarea5856]

They still spended a lot of money to get the super team that conquered La Decima. I think the only diffrence is that Florentino this time spended hundreds of millions to improve the team and not just for Real Madrid´s brand.

[@NoonyJW]

Thing is Real Madrid is at least owned by the fans who only care about winning and they have an arch rival that will push them and make sure that’s their main goal meanwhile PSG owned by a state and has barely any competition has settled solely on domestic dominance and throwing money at the biggest names to increase their brand popularity with no regard for developing local talent, this video did a good job of exposing them.

[@Kaizuk0hakupac]

@@mitonaarea5856 In the future for your own information (Take it or leave it i dont care) Say "Spent" When you want to say "Spended."

[@finfog4590]

Was that the period where they didn’t get past the last 16, five years in a row?

[@Kushagra.j]

​@@finfog4590 from 2003-04 to 2009-10 i.e. 7 years in a row consecutive R16 exits

[@jameshunter6289]

Paris is an awesome city for producing footballing talent, something PSG havent taken advantage of. Went for the big names instead of passionate youngsters who'd play for the badge instead of money

[@jasonshoesmith467]

PSG are a team of champions, not a champion team

[@constablekennedy7705]

Wait until they get their Claws into Manchester United … 👀. 💀. ⚽️

[@DrtyALGreen]

All the Premier League teams will be Blood Oil money owned before too long. It's going to be just as bad for sports washing as F1 is now.

[@doctorkhumalo7730]

Can't wait 🔴⚫

[@RobitGalaxy]

They are not rlly interested in Man United. They would prefer to buy Real Madrid.

[@Ed_Crane]

Yea, like the current owners are doing such a great job 😂 You clown

[@retiredrebel]

Before you criticize Qatar for their labour practices, do the same to India, China, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, and the forced labor of the USA. Don’t forget Apartheid Israel. Qatar exposes the ongoing Palestinian genocide in their media in great detail, must they be angels to fight demons. I don’t like money team nor slavery, and I hate PSG for $222 million statement. They could’ve fed & enriched so many people. Bedouins to BeINs… From Tents of hassles to Life in Castles, from Sand Dunes to Riches & Green Pitches, and Plenty of biT$hes, from a rebel of stone & pebbles, I ride the bus,..they fly 30,000 feet above us, then lay 6 feet under like the rest of us.

[@rogink]

Given his pitch telling us about how many great players the greater Paris region has produced, I was waiting for Alfie to talk about PSG's academy and any plans to develop youth talent. It would be interesting to hear more about this, as I suspect most of us are well aware of the talent already at the club. I visited once back in the late 90s as I was visiting Paris with a friend. We went to see PSG play Auxerre. When we got close to the ground we asked how to get tickets, and were directed to a nearby bar. There we had to go to a kiosk and could buy tickets there. Then we went through various barriers and finally to the right gate at the Parc des Princes. Being only familiar with lower league English clubs, I was staggered to see the massive banners for the Boys de Boulogne - which I learnt were the PSG ultras. I think we all wonder why such a big city only has one major football club. Perhaps it's a class thing. Wherever you go in the city, it feels middle class and prosperous, all the way out to the Peripherique. Not natural territory for a working class sport. True the banlieues are the opposite, but perhaps they are too poor to even create their own clubs that can compete. Vive le Racing!

[@Rassalcon]

Thank you so much for making this video! I have been getting very sick of other United fans going ''OIL ME UP'' whenever anyone claims that maybe being owned by Qatar isn't a good thing.

[@nas84payne]

“I feel Qatari.” 😀🙄 United fans have had a go at the likes of PSG, City owners, but now it’s them it’s not an issue. Just goes to show they didn’t really care about those owners. It was just cuz it wasn’t their team.

[@Damian_1989]

Yeah, the amount of United fans that used to hate on PSG, City and Newcastle that are now quietly rolling back their words, it's truly hilarious

[@Rassalcon]

@@nas84payne This is true of all teams' fans. I've been in some of the most toxic gaming communities and football fans put gamers to shame. United just happen to have arguably the largest and definitely the nosiest fanbase in the world, so it's harder to avoid.

[@Rassalcon]

@@Damian_1989 Makes you sick doesn't it? I've never felt more ashamed to call myself a united fan.

[@danmitchell1955]

As man United fan I never hated on Newcastle United being brought up by Saudis or even city . I just don’t like man United or any team to be owned by state in general . But I did not see Newcastle being different from Man City or Chelsea being brought .

[@nathanb286]

At the moment, I feel that PSG are on the right track. Instead of signing old has-beens, they seem to be signing younger players like Vitinha, Carlos Soler, Nuno Mendes and Hugo Ekitike. They might have learnt from their mistakes earlier Edit : Also a lot of their youth academy prospects seem to do very well at other clubs (Maignan, Coman, Nkunku etc.) They should probably make it easier to intergrate them into the first team

[@TheRiko83]

Totally agree mainly thanks to Luis Campos coming in as director of football

[@undeadzetherion2556]

No they arent, Carlos Soler has been abysmal for PSG,Ekitike has been terrible aswell, Vitinha was good at the start of the season but since the WC he has not made a single good apperance for PSG, only Nuno mendes has really shown his potential and will be playing for PSG. It is even worse when you consider that PSG had 2 better forwards name Housni and Kalimuendo but decided to sell one for 20 mil while they bought a worse player for 35. Carlos Soler is absolute dog shit since the start and they had the opportunity to keep Xavi Simons who was staring to get game time. So no they are not making things right

[@u1rtc7t5f64t157856v8]

If they lose to Bayern in the cl round of 16, no one will care.

[@victordurand3000]

And they're all shit except mendes

[@victordurand3000]

@@u1rtc7t5f64t157856v8 its done bayern already won

[@BALHAM69]

a documentary on the afc Wimbledon on the nine promotions in eleven years, how they’re a fan own club and how they have a stadium in plough lane now. The story of they lost the club, how the F A allowed that and won’t allow that anymore. How they were very close to moving to ireland How they went up the English football leagues. It would be a good documentary video if you can do this. #thepeopleschannel

[@ryannstringfellow2067]

Nah everyone's done a video on Wimbledon

[@BALHAM69]

@@ryannstringfellow2067 poor Southend they are gone it seems 😕 Any opinion Ryannn? Edit update A hitc sevens Alfie video on how they got their new stadium and a updated version would be good I’m sure you will agree Ryannnnn

[@ryannstringfellow2067]

@@BALHAM69 Southend have a moron of an owner who's obsessed with building a new stadium without actually having the money to build a new stadium. Sad times but if they were to get liquidated then Southend do have decent fanbase to start again.

[@BALHAM69]

@@ryannstringfellow2067 it’s unfortunate, they haven’t paid their players or club staff

[@fatboyfat3690]

Hope the documentary on AFC Wimbledon includes a section on them buying Kingstonian’s ground from under them & then booting them out

[@SanFranFan30]

Duncan Watmore must really love your videos

[@asamoarules4559]

So too Ki Jana Hoever, Wilfried Ndidi, Wout Weghorst, Ian Wright, Freddy Adu and of course Eddie Howe XD If he wants to use someone for 'In Fact', will he use Ten Hag for it? Lol

[@krisr3868]

PSG's inability to win the Champions League doesn't just apply to football (men's and women's alike), their handball team has also failed to win the Champions League despite having far more money than any other handball club on the planet. They've had the Karabatic brothers, Abalo, Mikkel Hansen, Narcisse, Omeyer, Remili, Gensheimer and Sagosen at the same time; along with many other class players (I know these names mean little to most viewers, but that list includes the only two male players who have been named world player of the year thrice, with two other WPOTY's as well, and other superstars).

[@DrZaius3141]

I think comparing them to RB Salzburg makes sense. Both were taken over by universally hated right-wing entities who threw money at the club to dominate domestically. However, a recent poll showed that Austrians in general, while not being specifically fans of Salzburg, at least hold the team in relatively high regard (on average higher than any other club in the country). The two big differences are for one that RB never put in the obscene amounts of money Qatar did. This means that any international success still feels "earned". The real big difference though is that Salzburg invested more significantly in the infrastructure with a great academy and some impressive scouting of future superstars instead of just looking at a list of the most expensive release clauses and going shopping. Sure, it's still borderline impossible to like the RB clubs, but it's possible to respect their approach, strategy and success. And that's more than Qatar got out of PSG.

[@rafaelwoitzuck3186]

Not really. A lot of people see Red Bull Salzburg purely as a marketing vehicle of Red Bull and pretty much miss the obvious point: Would the marketing/PR department really have picked an obscure club in a tiny austrian city for their brand? Naw. The more probable version is that Mateschitz got talked into taking over Austria Salzburg and, shrewd businessman with a fierce temper that he was, simply went full branding to safe money. Leipzig & Red Bull international also came later and probably out of business considerations and those are also kind of different beasts as, contrary to salzburg and its goal of being "the best U22 in europe" ((c) Christoph Freund) is quite different than "winning everything".

[@alexmarissens4016]

Right wing???

[@rafaelwoitzuck3186]

@@alexmarissens4016 European right-wing. so basically centrist USA

[@DrZaius3141]

@@alexmarissens4016 Mateschitz was a (in part even self-confessed) sexist and racist. His companies have horrid working conditions, using several union busting strategies that aren't legal in Austria. His media outlet spread right-wing conspiracy theories as well as Covid misinformation. Essentially, he tried to make the Austrian version of FOX News and he was right-wing even by US standards.

[@yannick245]

@@rafaelwoitzuck3186 Since when is Red Bull making politics? I haven't heard of a Red Bull party so far. But it sounds funny. What would be their agenda? Giving people wings or tax cuts on energy drinks?

[@skm5974]

Dang! 3 mins late, 107 views and 25 likes already. Alfie, keep the good content coming!! Btw, I havent forgotten about the Arsenal video😅

[@willbentley8856]

The sad part is that I do think their shtick is working with the new generation. I see a lot of teens around my backwards part of England wearing PSG shirts. I don't get it at all, but I think football is increasingly becoming about big personalities rather than clubs with younger fans who live vicariously through the players. I blame social media and FUT more than anything. It's pretty depressing.

[@middler5]

There are more younger fans supporting multiple teams too. They'll have their PSGs of the world but they also go to smaller club football. The best marketed lower league teams have had a nice boon of late with attendances.

[@BigPurp9]

I mean tbf it’s more of a fashion thing than anything else. I own a couple PSG kits despite not being particularly fond of them. Nike/Jordan have just made them some sexy arse kits these past years 😂

[@encorefootball]

Lemme have guess: Messi fanboys. Ronaldo fanboys do similar things

[@Rossoneri2]

Don't worry about it. They aren't psg fans, it's literally just a fashion statement.

[@kevinb9830]

Agreed. I know every generation claims to be better than the last, but I genuinely think social media has made the latest generation a bunch of vapid morons.

[@scottkeir3943]

Great video as always Absolutely love the documentary's aswell. Football years meets top content. Since you mentioned okacha Ronaldinho and Anelka What about all time club best 11s ie Best celtic and rangers 11 if all time PSG man u etc Southampton lol Would absoloutely love a short documentary on Gretna if you ever fancy it . A know you know your Scottish football . Anyway Best channel on KZbin bro Keep up the good work!

[@MassEffect1988]

Watching PSG fail every Champions League campaign, makes me smile 👍😅

[@kimmolaine8069]

Hey man. Your content is both informative and wildly entertaining. Subscribed!

[@jonathancamut7287]

I have very fond memories of when Ibrahimovic was there. That was prime PSG

[@finfog4590]

I did actually see them as more of a threat then than I do now.

[@TiktokBro154]

@@finfog4590 True they were a pretty good team then because they weren't plagued by superstars but ever since that Neymar signing they have became extremely unlikable

[@heijimikata7181]

@@TiktokBro154 I agree. After the Neymar signing, it feels that the dressing room is more of a problem than their performances on the pitch.

[@musicaladdiction4147]

For a healthy league there needs to be at least 3 clubs that are considered the big 3, Holland and Portugal spring to mind both with 3 big clubs and there is a surprise team most years, coming from Scotland I know 2 clubs is stale as hell I can only imagine how a 1 club league feels for the other teams in it. England has 8-10 big clubs Spain and Italy traditionally have 3 each but Italy has become the most competitive league in recent years with Napoli looking like the champions for first time since Maradonna in the 80s and I wouldn’t be surprised if they win the champions league as well

[@Cos_Why_Not]

7 sisters in Italy I always view as big clubs

[@philipus.]

In Spain the Big 3 are recent, no older than 15 years. Traditionally, there were more teams, but the economic development in recent years have put a hold to football growth. The great teams in Spanish football are: Real, Barca, Athletic, Valencia, Atletico, Sociedad and Sevilla/Betis

[@soundscape26]

If you are going to claim England has 8-10 big clubs then Italy has 6-7 not just 3.

[@musicaladdiction4147]

@@soundscape26 I agree a bit but financially it’s a different story at least 6/7 teams in England are big Chelsea,Liverpool,Manchester city and United, Arsenal now Newcastle as well and Leicester won the title until recently it’s been Juventus and the 2 Milan clubs every year for the league I can’t remember a year it wasn’t one of them but without the financial support the seria A is the best league right now in my opinion

[@musicaladdiction4147]

@@soundscape26 Napoli are 👌

[@kirkwoodhawk2]

This is very informative video. As an American trying to learn more about European football and who started following PSG because of Mbappé and Messi, but not knowing much else about the team other than knowing generally it is owned by Qatar, this is a very helpful video.

[@tausifnazim5048]

Follow Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, FC Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United and you will know more about "European" "football" more than the dumbf**k Qataris owning psg. And also remember the equation, Football Club = Heritage + Culture + Fan + Success + Patience + A Competitive League. But psg = oil. So it is not a football club, it is worse than a strip club.

[@project-ww9gx]

That tells me all 🇺🇲 start following psg. All the european clubs psg 🤮 Like You should watch your own teams. Not glory hunting european clubs

[@kirkwoodhawk2]

@@project-ww9gx Nah, I mostly watch the Premier League because it is the most available league to watch on American network television.

[@dronesclubhighjinks]

I agree. European sports leagues are so different from North American leagues. It's almost like everything you know about NBA NFL NHL MLB (am I missing one? I'd check with my brother, but he's busy) can go out the window when you're trying to understand how European leagues work. Each country has its own league, and then they have the Champions League as well, which seems to be the top one or two teams from every country, who play each other throughout the regular soccer season. In many cases, the country's championship is always between the same several teams, or the same two teams, or one team, who always wins. This channel has a great video out with the most one-sided leagues in the world. "7 countries dominated by one football club" is the title. Follow whatever teams you like. How are we supposed to know whom we want to cheer for if we don't have a base to start from? Picking a team with players you liked in the World Cup is a good start. You can branch out to other teams and other countries when /if you feel like it. Another channel I have found super well-researched and informative is "Football Iconic". Highly recommended! Website fourfourtwo dot com is good as well. ⚽️

[@brun4775]

Soulless plastic club run to appeal to plastic internet fans. They'll run it the same if they buy United.

[@PH-jv4ik]

Most modern football clubs are plastic its an unfortunate state of things but thats how it is rather be a plastic club like PSG than a commercially run club thats a shitshow on the pitch like United

[@jhaych]

Completely different, they've had to build a brand at psg and invest money into them to form that, United run themselves and don't need to grow the brand.

[@ezraezra2928]

In Premier League, there are 7 clubs from the capital (London) for this season, but only 3 of them were fared better for most years: Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham Hotspurs. Arsenal had 13 league titles and are also hunting for 14th (the same amount as Real Madrid's UCL trophies), Chelsea only fared better in the international competitions, and Tottenham were mess, with the last silverware came in 2008, when they won the League Cup. Not only that, Chelsea and Tottenham were in huge crisis. Other than that, the English football is well dominated by Lancashire, with Liverpool and Manchester United had 133 silverwares being combined (67 for Liverpool and 66 for Manchester United), plus Manchester City that won everything for the domestic football, but still yet for their European Cup.

[@xenon8342]

To be fair, spurs are hardly in crisis, more in a slowing ascent. Its hard to believe but when I was a young spurs fan we always spent the season staring down the barrel of relegation, and the notion of silverware was insanity. From there its been a steadyish rise to greater things, but thanks to those miracle seasons under poch we slipped our way into the big boys club and now everyone seems to think anything outside the top 4 is a tragedy, when In reality it would just be us ceasing to overperform. Now Chelsea? That's a crisis

[@ezraezra2928]

@@xenon8342 That same thing also applies to Everton. After 68 years of reign, the club were now in serious trouble, being placed in relegation zone after lots of defeats. They might have 9 national league titles and UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1984, but they didn't play in the European Cup for the last two occasions (1985-86 and 1987-88) because of Liverpool's Heysel disaster in 1985 that banned all English clubs for participating in Europe for 5 years. Their last silverwares came in 1995 with the form of FA Cup. They almost got relegated in 1997-98, having only won through a goal differences than Bolton Wanderers. The game at Bolton for two teams should be replayed and Bolton were destined to survive because no offside for the disallowed goal.

[@KingYahshua]

This is what happens when people deduce sports down to branding and marketing. Doesn’t matter if you win or lose as long as the money machine keeps rolling. The social media age has unarguably exacerbated this. Youth teams don’t pay immediate dividends when it comes to pleasing sponsors, so from their POV, it’s merely an act of baseless philanthropy if they do pump money into youth development.

[@georgetware2098]

The Lee Anderson has not gone unnoticed, beautiful stuff mate

[@barneyjames1126]

Top video Alfie. As always.

[@cryfier]

Tuchel winning the CL after being fired couldve really been added here

[@Revominded85]

This is probably the best nuanced perspective on the PSG situation.

[@mychannel3774]

Excellent, balanced and insightful. This brother _knows_ football…

[@ChinchillaBONK]

French league is not competitive enough for PSG , so the team gets a rude shock when they play Champions League. Btw, how did PSG managed to avoid UEFA Financial sanctions?

[@dominikfraaanjuan]

FFP is spineless at this point tbh. UEFA might've tried to show that they're working by the Man City investigation. But they didn't try anything other than that. MU, PSG and many other team that breaches the FFP went unpunished. Heck even Man City practically went unpunished (no, getting a ban on Transfer Market didn't count as a punishment). i believe that even with the new investigation done by the Premier League, City will get over another "light punishment" as opposed to point deduction or relegations.

[@Brandon-nq7ys]

Because their owner is on the board at UEFA.......

[@milosorian1320]

French Fact : French president at the time Sarkozy created a law exonerating of taxes Qatari Funds, only for the acquisition of PSG and the creation of BeIn Sports medias.

[@nmarcus7233]

💵💵💵

[@kevinb9830]

I'm sick of the intrusion by dirty oil rich Arabs into western sports of late. Boxing as well, loads of fights happening in Saudi where no actual fans exist or can reasonably get to. Hence no atmosphere.

[@User_29765]

@@kevinb9830 Money rules. Nobody at the top cares for the sport, just money

[@andresmcjr]

​@@kevinb9830 its more of a them thing, I heard Qatar, Saudi and other such countries are really competitive with each other over who can "do more" per say, the plastic asian fans they bring with them are the worst

[@FoobRMann]

Even if they don't do it through their youth ranks, they could still have made their identity "the best of French football taking on the rest of Europe". The sales pitch becomes "play at PSG, and you'll slot right in to the French national team"

[@EL_XO]

You give me an excuse to stay up all night. 1AM uploads.

[@Kennyy14]

great vid Alfie 🙌

[@johnadedoyin6866]

Great piece of journalism- all bases covered

[@jimbob-robob]

Nice one Alfie! 👍🖖✊️

[@truejacksonveep]

Alfie could read the dictionary and I would want to listen.

[@kevinb9830]

weirdo.

[@andreafresca9869]

And now they're out of the UCL. Alfie never misses.

[@SauROnmiKE]

6:51 That cloud perfectly describes the PSG situation

[@jj72rg]

The story was written in the sand - Qatar will support PSG in exchange for France supporting Qatar in the world cup bid, Qatar will get the PR it needed through the World Cup which France was destined to win, Mbappé will be the new God and PSG the new dominator, everyone get rich and happily ever after - only for another PSG payroll Messi to mess it all up, stealing the show and now this train wreck is just too beautiful to watch.

[@Gia1911Logous]

I think the 18/19 UCL explains how it's not just money that wins titles The final was between Liverpool and Tottenham, two of the lowest spending teams that year It was one of the worst finals ever, but the point still stands, with Liverpool having beaten a great Barcelona team and Tottenham a great Man City team

[@shane.Donegan.125]

Holy crap lowkey I forgot Buffon played for them thats madness

[@marioroman555]

I'd like them to keep doing the things they do. Watching their Sysyphus efforts just to see them fail again.

[@innercityprepper]

Fantastic video, just a few missed "Howevers" and "What's Mores".

[@mafiousbj]

Also it´s is amazing seeing the difference in motivation by Messi when playing with Argentina vs PSG. Most of his close friends were forced out of the club this season and he will surely leave at the end of it. I don´t blame him at all...people point at Barça being a political mess, but PSG seems to be a mismanagement and drama nightmare for any professional to work for at every level.

[@pierrem6056]

Also do a video on 7 multilingual players if you haven't done already

[@Rhubarb.and.Crustard]

19:02 The best band ever. Such a massive Clash nerd I can even tell you who took that photo when and where. Photoshoot with Micheal Putland, New York late 1978

[@thatoneundertalefanatic]

Hey,Alfie. Since people probably won't talk about this,i doubt you'll even see my comment but in case you do,it'd be interesting to see you talk about "operation penalidade máxima." To add a little context,it's an ongoing scandal on brazil's second tier where gamblers who have bet a lot of money have paid players to make certain actions to alter the result,like commiting a penalty,for example. Players from Sampaio correia,tombense, and villa nova were paid r$ 150.000 to do that.

[@TheCatDrinksAllTheRedBull]

In Australia, most people don't even know what a PSG is, and people who say their favorite sport is football tend to get grief from eshays (similar to a chav). Because of PSG becoming a fashion brand, PSG clothes have become common amongst eshays, which makes me hate PSG even more.

[@jamesbunda806]

PSG trying to play ultimate team in real life is hilarious. Even man city wasn’t this bad when they started spending.

[@bryanmorrison2396]

Honestly Alfue your spot on abt the no building a squad signing individuals never works proofs there. Gr8 video m8 pure OG shit. Michael be so proud 👏

[@baller84milw]

You should look up Adam Friedland. You're like the football equivalent of him.

[@user-bt1cl4ex6d]

lol what?

[@baller84milw]

@@user-bt1cl4ex6d only real ones know

[@soundscape26]

18:15 - Alfie has more than a slight infatuation with Paris. 😄

[@TheRealBoroNut]

13:47 Bernie Slaven, probably their most clinical striker signing ever. UTB.

[@GaryGillKeeper]

Did my man just do a Hunger Games reference? "May the odds be in your favour"? Quality script writing, it's got layers!!!

[@MIKIEC71]

Nice 30p Lee reference! :D

[@fimmyk]

Problem is there to be seen by all. As long as Mbappe gets free reign at PSG it doesn’t matter who they bring, it ain’t going to work. We saw what Messi can do when the team plays to his strengths with Argentina. Not saying PSG should play to just Messi’s strengths but they should be balanced, as of now the power dynamics at PSG is all about Mbappe. You can’t give a player that much control and not expected the dressing to disfunction.

[@rhythmneverdies]

0:16 what was that sound 😂

[@jamespuffer2889]

PSG will never compete at the top level with their current attitude and I sincerely hope that they don’t purchase Man U. They will surely ruin the small modicum of progress that Ten Hag has managed to achieve with their ridiculous attitude that real life football is like playing FIFA on Playstation with cheat codes on. Real life clubs are not like a video game. You can’t just buy all the best players, slap them together as a team, and expect to win everything. PSG demonstrates what happens when you replace ambition, drive, and squad cohesion with paychecks and record transfer fees. It appears like it should work on paper, but to people who truly understand how football works, it’s obviously not going to work. Clubs like Brighton for example will be capable of accomplishing more bc the squad is better balanced, all the players are driven and on the same page, and they’re playing with more than just a paycheck as motivation. PSG demonstrates why unchecked capitalism is always going to be a complete failure. You can’t have a system that relies on the constant victimization and exploitation of the working class, all in the name of preserving a ever shrinking uber-rich class’s wealth. The more people who realize that capitalism is a poison on the planet and that they feed you the lie of “one day you’ll be rich too” to keep you down, the faster we can fix some of these problems we all face.

[@jimson8222]

Gon write the Wikipedia page for the Conan Conundrum now

[@pedropierre9594]

They put too much emphasis on building the brand, the priority should always be the product on the field

[@benday1218]

Some excellent points, I expect most Ligue 1 teams have an unclear identity internationally though, with the exception of Marseille.

[@Lgx-ie4if]

In Europe Marseille is the coolest club in French football

[@Michaelkaydee]

The problem with tagging the World Cup as "the greatest trophy" and thus its winner is "greater" individually, is that it is country dependent... bigger and richer countries will generally win it and small ones will struggle.

[@whatsappvideosandgifs4315]

Argentina is not richer than Europe or Brazil.

[@Ninja-gt3zi]

The sportswashing has worked. Psg sells more kits than any other club right now their brand has blown exactly what Qatar wanted. Off the pitch been a success

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

Has it really worked for Qatar though? Judging from the incessant whining from Qataris and other Arabs about all the criticism of Qatar during the World Cup it seems like it didn't work. Or maybe they're just enormous whiny-ass babies who can't stand when anyone mentions the awful shit they do.

[@kevinb9830]

yes, they sell a lot to the plastic arabs. They're not real fans.

[@brunovazquez1]

PSG only cares about selling merch at this point. They're spending so much on ads and are selling the most ridicules items with the psg brand.

[@mrdubcek6824]

Not saying that Alfie isn't cool, but I've seen absolutely loads of people wear PSG kits, shirts, etc, which I personally find a bit weird and not sure i would wear one myself, but to say they haven't successfully turned them selves into a humongous trendy brand/club/whatever with a significant degree of popularity i think is disingenuous. Signing the most famous players worked for galacticos project in building a brand, even if the actual on pitch success came much much later.

[@nmarcus7233]

The branding success hasn’t equated itself to footballing respect yet. I remember at a certain point Beckham was regarded as an exceptional brand rather than an exceptional player. Someone a non-fan could appreciate much more than a purist. Didn’t mean he couldn’t play but branding and sporting feats are two different things. PSG have found themselves in the same conundrum.

[@WastingTime1878]

That’s incredible. I have barely ever seen that amount of people wearing psg tshirts. And those who wear them, do so because they saw a celebrity do the same and thought it was cool to replicate. They have barely known anything about the club.

[@sydwellmyataza]

Can you do a series on the best players of the 2000s like you did for the 2010s much love from Cape Town South African 🇿🇦

[@Architypesworldwide]

Love how you said “London has 6 premier league clubs including Tottenham and arsenal” with no mention of the Chelsea scum

[@Michaelkaydee]

The Coman Conundrum 😁👌🏽

[@adamsboringvids]

Extremely reassuring watch as a United fan.

[@simokojamesphiri7924]

The Coman Conundrum aka The Comundrum

[@domhuckle]

PSG being awful, despite the billions they throw around, in a game mostly dictated by expenditure, is the one hilarious thing that galvanises every fan on earth

[@domhuckle]

Apart from PSG ones, obviously

[@randyschwaggins]

I work as a VC in the UK...for those unfamiliar with the term a VC is a venture capitalist...basically we invest in early stage businesses. I've had some exposure to investors in Saudi, Qatar and UAE with deals and I can say one thing from my experiences. The Arabs have so much money they literally do not care if their investments work or not. Of course they want to generate a return but they will put money into ANYTHING based on emotion or introductions from 'trusted' advisors. They don't do anywhere near the due diligence on financials that investors in the west do...simply because they can afford to lose their investment and know they print money every day via oil. PSG is a prime example of this attitude. The Qataris have thrown huge amounts of money at the club. They wanted to win the UCL but anyone with any sense would have told them to buy a Premier league or Serie A club. But it won't matter to them. If they realise PSG is just not capable of winning the UCL they will drop them, write off the loss, and simply buy another club.

[@thkiwi1]

The reason why PSG went wrong is because of Neymar At the Cavani era, PSG was on the right way and was getting very close to become a successful club But then Neymar came and completely destroyed the discipline of the squad with his massive immaturity Now we can see that the squad is all divided because of him, Mbappe is threatening to leave and the club is destroyed He does the exact same thing with Brazil Since he joined the Selecao, Brazil couldn't win anything, every World Cup is a massive fail So the solution for PSG is kick Neymar out and rebuild from zero Same thing for Brazil

[@nicovelardita8619]

Neymar won everything at Santos and Barcelona with a more than solid game level. He was younger and had even less discipline than now, your accusation makes no sense seeing his past club achievements Brazil's current team is also a disaster in a myriad of levels beyond Neymar, who has been his best scorer time and time again in key WC games Just say you don't like him instaed of making stuff up

[@finnblower7075]

​@@nicovelardita8619 thing is neymar at barca and Santos didn't have any of the influence over the dressing rooms that he has at psg and brazil

[@eltorroyirlande]

We really liked your job interview...but...maybe next time...

[@aslambahadur9673]

You didn't have to do Khelaifi like that 💀

[@Edward44509]

They focus way too much on image and marketing than the team itself

[@Real_SkyRipper]

The only smart one was the Emirates, they got a club no one gave value or chances (man city) and build it to the very top, if Qatar actually cared about football they would have done the same, imagine buying ... Palermo, Fiorentina, even Milan to revive a sleeping giant, stuff like that, buying PSG to own a league and politics in France is just pathetic, hope they fail forever.

[@rwalker0130]

while I ABSOLUTELY do not want the Qatar ownership for ManU, the biggest immediate difference between the two clubs is Eric Ten Hag. In the short term United could be monstrously successful with a Qatar cash influx if they let Ten Hag continue to pick the players and make all sport decisions.

[@michaelparkinsonsfreeparkerpen]

Why not?

[@kevinb9830]

a bit early to say that.

[@elr492]

The problem is not the lack of parisian youths. It's that they build the team as a 12 year old sets up a team playing a video game. Messi, Neymar and Mbappe cannot play together. Neymar and Mbappe both favor the left. Neymar can drop a bit back and play as playmaker, as he did when they got to the UCL final. But now that would Messi's role. Meanwhile, none of them want to play as a center forward, or press. Their massive salaries naturally cause that the team has to make cut in other positions. That is not how you build a team. PSG biggest mistake, though, has been buying Neymar and Mbappe together, even though they naturally tend to favor the left wing. It's pretty stupid to spend soooo much money on players that are very different, but still often overlap. It's almost as stupid as spending on two world class keepers (oh wait, they did that too).

[@JoseHerrerawl]

Lol at Brendon Slob and wrinks catching strays.

[@NDakovic]

Messi is literally in his retirement league (ergo beckham in usa, ronaldo and iniesta in arabia, buffon in 2nd league and so forth)

[@leemcdonald1342]

Video idea: 7 tactical terms that only association football fans understand.

[@Michaelkaydee]

Nice video... that said, I really hope Sheikh Al Thani wins the bid to buy Manchester United... (the not so subtle "nes pas" not withstanding 😈) at least there they're likely to achieve their CL dream under ten Hag and return the club to its rightful place at the zenith of World football. We know what we want and will not be swayed 😅

[@PH-jv4ik]

Video on South African football and Sundowns in the PSL

[@Kaizuk0hakupac]

Yoyo, your next video should be "How the Americans got everything wrong at Manchester United"

[@RyuzakiTaiyou]

Best German players in the premier league of all time. (Day 462) I will not give up until the video is made or Alfie himself tells me to stop. Everyone else telling me that will be ignored. If you don't believe my number, just go back to the previous videos. I'm at the bottom most of the time, but I'm there.

[@Daiton45]

I admire the dedication to request this video for an entire year and three months but surely you could have used some of that time to read the countless articles on the topic or even compile your own list of the best German players in the PL...? Considering Alfie checks comments for ideas and its been more than a year now I reckon it's time to give up, and do your own research and reading on the topic mate

[@soundscape26]

@@Daiton45 I think it's pretty obvious Alfie doesn't pick his topics based on the "day xx" folks. You can make a good suggestion a single and he'll pick it up if he deems it worthy.

[@Jack-df3th]

Paris fc is professional

[@nicestoriesnottherealstori3006]

And to think current Real Madrid is better then 2022 Paris Saint German while being much younger.

[@captainfalconmain6576]

100 percent spot on

[@leaguesmanoframsgate]

I'm gonna put in another request for a hypothetical starting XI for the East African Federation, a proposed federation (big surprise there) of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. None of them are exactly what you'd call powerhouse footballing nations, with the exception of the DRC, but with plenty of players from those nationalities in the French and German leagues there's bound to be some diamonds in the rough. I did actually send Alfie a Twitter DM detailing my own attempt at an EAF first team, complete with a kit design and a subs bench, but since that didn't get a response I can only assume it got lost in the post. It's not like he'd ignore an unsolicited private message about putting together a national football team for a country that doesn't exist, right? Right? This is day 2 of the streak. I intend to go for as long as I can until Alfie either makes the video or tells me to bugger off. I'm sure you have your own opinions about which is more likely. =]

[@Vivi_dream123]

Fantastic as always Alfie

[@lukeborchardt1807]

I feel like Campos at PSG is kinda the equivalent of Chaim Bloom the GM of the Boston Red Sox. He came over from the Rays where they operated on a lower budget and had a lot of success so it seemed he was over performing. Now with a Red Sox team with a bigger budget it seems as if he’s doing much worse than he actually is, especially with Boston media constantly asking for his head. You just have to be patient 🙌

[@josephjoestar995]

Neymar constantly unfairly scapegoated

[@randommage1]

now you’ve jinxed it and psg will win the ucl this year