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French Ligue 1

Same old sad story for PSG despite 11th Ligue 1 title

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Ligue 1 - RC Strasbourg v Paris St Germain - Stade de la Meinau, Strasbourg, France - May 27, 2023 Paris St Germain's Lionel Messi celebrates scoring their first goal with Kylian Mbappe and Sergio Ramos REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

Paris St Germain claimed a record-breaking 11th Ligue 1 title but their future looks blurry after yet another failure in the Champions League.

This season, PSG’s team were assembled around Kylian Mbappe, but the France forward has yet to announce whether he will activate the option to stay at the club until 2025 or if he will leave in 2024.

Mbappe was one of very few satisfactions as PSG also failed to win the French Cup, scoring 28 goals while Lionel Messi was largely disappointing and Neymar missed the second part of the season through injury.

Between the posts, Gianluigi Donnarumma did not provide the same safety he gave Italy in their Euro 2020 winning campaign and PSG exited the Champions League in the last 16 for the fifth time in the last seven campaigns.

PSG’s sometimes woeful performances, unexpected for the Qatar-owned club who spent way over a billion euros in transfers since 2011, were due to some poor recruitment choices and the lack of proper team spirit.

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While on paper, Mbappe, Messi and Neymar could form the most formidable attacking trio on the planet, it never really gelled and they were barely supported by a less-than-average midfield with Marco Verratti a huge disappointment throughout the season.

Since Carlo Ancelotti, arguably one of the most seasoned managers in Europe, was sacked in 2013, coaches have come and gone, all failing to get a grip on the squad in spectacular fashion.

Laurent Blanc, Unai Emery, Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino have come short and so did Christophe Galtier this season.

Messi was suspended for an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia earlier this month but Galtier said he had nothing to do with the decision to sanction the forward, whose form has nosedived spectacularly after he won the World Cup with Argentina.

Messi scored PSG’s opener from Mbappe’s pass on Saturday but the 35-year-old is likely to leave the club at the end of the season. There is growing speculation that Neymar could also depart, leaving the management with a team to build almost from scratch, yet again.

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PSG’s refusal to admit management errors has left their most devoted fans to protest repeatedly, which culminated in some of them gathering in front of Neymar’s home chanting for the Brazilian to leave.

Their wish might be heard, but what’s coming next is anyone’s guess, and 12 years of sometimes erratic decisions do not inspire confidence.

-Reuters

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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French Ligue 1

Hakimi now World’s Highest-Paid Fullback after PSG Contract Extension

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After Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi signed a contract extension with French Ligue 1 side, Paris Saint-Germain, he became the World’s most-paid fullback.

The Moroccan international will earn a staggering €70 million in wages over his new five-year deal, cementing his status as football’s highest-paid defender.

He signed a contract extension with the French champions until 2029. The new deal adds three years to his previous contract, which was set to expire in 2026.

His net salary is increasing from €10 million to €14 million per season (€28 million gross).

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French Ligue 1

PSG Leads Others in Race for Ademola Lookman

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The 2024 Ballon d’Or nominee and Super Eagles winger, Ademola Lookman, is almost certain to leave the Serie A in the coming winter transfer window following interest from Premiership but the biggest interest is from Paris Saint Germaine.

The AFCON 2024 silver medal winner with Nigeria has been on the radar of the London side, West Ham United and three other sides from the league but all is more certain that the London club will find it difficult to compete for the signature of Atalanta star according to Football Insider.

Reports have suggested that the Irons are ready to swoop for the Nigeria international in the January transfer window.

However, sources say there will be “huge interest” from Europe in the 27-year-old ex-Everton star.

Paris Saint-Germain will be the frontrunner for the forward if he becomes available in the coming months.

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Additionally, Lookman plays in the same area of the pitch as West Ham’s big-money summer signings Crysencio Summerville and Luis Guilherme.

The London-born has raised his stock with his displays for Atalanta since joining from RB Leipzig in 2022.

He finished 14th in the Ballon d’Or rankings this year after leading the Italian side to a Europa League title last term.

Lookman has already hit five goals and contributed five assists in 10 games across all competitions this term.

The forward, who is under contract until June 2026, hit 17 goals and notched 10 assists in 45 appearances last season.

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West Ham are unlikely to have serious funds to spend in the January window after their lavish spending in the off-season.

Julen Lopetegui’s side started slowly and sat 13th in the Premier League after nine games.

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French Ligue 1

PSG to go to court after LFP rule in favour of Mbappe in wage dispute

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 Paris St Germain Press Conference - Paris, France - May 23, 2022 Paris St Germain's Kylian Mbappe and Paris St Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi pose with a shirt during the press conference REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo

 Paris St Germain will take their wage dispute with Kylian Mbappe to court after the French football league’s governing body (LFP) ruled in favour of the France captain on Friday.

French media reported the 25-year-old, who has not commented on the dispute, is seeking around 55 million euros ($59.52 million) in salary and bonuses he says he is owed by the club.

The Ligue 1 champions, however, say Mbappe’s contract was “legally amended” and that he reneged on commitments when he left the club to join Spanish giants Real Madrid in the close season.

PSG said last month that Mbappe had refused an offer from the LFP to mediate on the issue.

The LFP’s National Joint Appeals Commission heard the parties on Oct. 15 and announced on Friday it had ruled in favour of Mbappe.

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“The club must pay him the salary he is claiming. This decision is not subject to appeal, but may be referred to the FFF (French Football Federation) Executive Committee,” the LFP told Reuters.

However, PSG said they would be “forced to bring the case before the competent courts” while still trying to find an “amicable solution” with Mbappe, who became the French club’s all-time top scorer during his seven-year stay in the capital.

“What is in debate, and will ultimately be heard before an appropriate tribunal, is that the original contract was legally amended in August 2023 relating to the 2024-25 season, and also fully recognised by the player including in January 2024 – until the player then decided to renege all his commitments upon leaving the club,” a PSG spokesperson said.

“As a matter of law and fact, the player has made clear, repeated public and private commitments that the club simply asks are honoured, with the player being afforded unprecedented benefits by the club over seven years in Paris.

“The club hopes these basic commitments will simply be respected, knowing that the club will be forced to have the player’s bad faith judged by the competent courts if the player regrettably seeks to pursue this incomprehensibly damaging dispute, for himself and for French football, further.”

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Mbappe’s representatives were not immediately available for comment.

In January, Mbappe had said he made an agreement with PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi which would “protect all parties and preserve the club’s serenity for the challenges ahead”.

-Reuters

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