Friday 4 August 2017 10:48, UK
Are Paris Saint-Germain about to join the European elite? After a world-record £200m deal for Barcelona's Neymar, we chart the progress of the PSG project.
Neymar's record-breaking transfer to Paris Saint-Germain has stunned the footballing world, but for Qatari Sports Investments, it's a moment which has been six years in the making.
When QSI completed their takeover of PSG in the summer of 2011, their president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, outlined his ambitious plan to turn the club into a European superpower. "We will work over the coming years to make PSG a great team and a strong brand on the international scene," he said, "one that will make all the fans proud."
It was the birth of the PSG project. The French side had just finished outside Ligue 1's top three for the seventh consecutive season, but with the financial might of their new Middle Eastern owners behind them, they were targeting new heights. QSI wanted to build a team befitting of one of the world's most iconic cities.
With Brazil legend Leonardo as their newly-appointed sporting director, PSG embarked on a summer of heavy spending in the transfer market. Mohamed Sissoko, Blaise Matuidi and Jeremy Menez were among the nine new signings, but the headline arrival was Javier Pastore, a £35.7m recruit from Italian side Palermo.
The Pastore deal was their first major statement of intent, but with the squad strengthened, the next job was to install a high-profile manager. Antoine Kombouare had guided PSG to the top of Ligue 1, but in December the club announced the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti. The two-time Champions League-winning Italian said he was persuaded by QSI's long-term ambitions for the club.
"Obviously when you have to find an agreement, you speak about money, but you also discuss the project, the future," said Ancelotti. "Those are most important to make a choice. We want to do something very big on an international scale."
Ancelotti succeeded in guiding PSG back into the Champions League, but they missed out on the Ligue 1 title to Montpellier. It was an embarrassing setback which prompted more spending from the club's owners. PSG raided AC Milan for Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic at a combined cost of over £60m. They also signed Ezequiel Lavezzi, Marco Verratti and Gregory van der Wiel.
PSG would further strengthen with the signings of David Beckham - who Al-Khelaifi described as an "ambassador" and a "brand" - and Lucas Moura on their way to winning the Ligue 1 title. And while Ancelotti departed Paris for Real Madrid that summer, the pattern of big spending and domestic domination continued under his successor Laurent Blanc.
PSG smashed their transfer record to sign the £55m Edinson Cavani from Napoli in 2013, and the following summers saw the arrivals of the £42m David Luiz from Chelsea and the £53.5m Angel Di Maria from Manchester United. Between 2013 and 2016, there were four consecutive Ligue 1 titles, not to mention eight other domestic cup wins.
If the club continues to grow like it has, guys won’t want to go to Barcelona, they will want to go to PSG.
In Europe, however, success kept eluding them. PSG were eliminated at the quarter-final stage of the Champions League for four years in a row, twice to Barcelona and once each to Chelsea and Manchester City. With PSG consistently falling short against Europe's elite, QSI appointed Unai Emery, a European specialist who had just guided Sevilla to a third consecutive Europa League triumph.
The Spaniard's first season in charge at the Parc des Princes did not go to plan, however. New recruits Grzegorz Krychowiak, Jese and Hatem Ben Arfa struggled to make an impact, PSG lost out on the Ligue 1 title to Leonardo Jardim's Monaco, and there was the crushing disappointment of surrendering a 4-0 advantage in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Barcelona.
Al-Khelaifi admitted it had been a "difficult" season in May, but also vowed to throw his backing behind Emery. Antero Enrique, the man who had masterminded Porto's transfer market success since 2005, was brought in as PSG's new sporting director, and in July, he helped convince Dani Alves to snub Manchester City for a move to the French capital.
"I am extremely happy to sign for PSG," said the former Barcelona right-back. "In recent years I've witnessed the tremendous growth of this club, which has became a strong force in European football. It is very exciting to become part of this great project."
With his former team-mate in the bag, PSG switched their attention to Neymar, the global superstar who could take them to the next level while dealing a considerable blow to one of the clubs they are seeking to overhaul in the process.
The 25-year-old signed a new long-term contract at Barcelona just 10 months ago, but the £198m buyout is not beyond QSI's means and the transfer is now edging closer to completion. Six years on, it could prove to be the most significant step yet for the PSG project.
