Make or Break Season for Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe?
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The summer of 2021 will always be memorable for F.C Barcelona, something that seemed impossible for the longest time. Lionel Messi was forced to leave his boyhood club and sign a two-year contract at PSG. Everyone knew of Barcelona’s financial situation, but no one ever envisioned that selling Messi would be the route they would end up taking. Obviously with a signing like that, everyone immediately touted PSG as the new favorites to win the Champions League. A competition that the French club has been coveting for the longest time.
Of course, winning the league went without saying, now that PSG had three of the top five best players in the world. They won back Ligue 1 last season by a comfortable 15 points after Lille had stolen it the year before. Although, the way this team was bounced out of the Champions League overshadowed any triumphs last season. With that front three, this PSG team was held to two goals over both legs as Real Madrid scored all three of their goals in the return leg in Madrid.
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Kylian Mbappe was the one player of the front three that showed up in both legs, as he scored PSG’s only two goals. While Real Madrid held Messi and Neymar to zero goals both times. Now people have begun to wonder, is this season the last we see of this trio? Messi’s contract ends this upcoming June and there’s been many rumors of him rejoining Barcelona or taking his talents to David Beckham’s Inter Miami in the MLS. Neymar has always been the sort-of scapegoat for PSG fans compared to the other two. Some fans even booed him during their home games and more rumors saying that PSG’s front office would not be against selling the Brazilian to any team interested.
PSG have also made it no secret that Mbappe is the one player they intended to keep no matter what. Various sources talked about Mbappe joining Real Madrid last summer, before he renewed for the Parisian club until 2025. He is now being rumored with joining Real Madrid sooner rather than later because of PSG’s inconsistency this season. They do lead Ligue 1 at the moment with a five point advantage over second placed Marseille. However, they were eliminated from the Coup de France by Marseille and recently lost at home to Bayern Munich after VAR ruled Kylian Mbappe’s late equalizer offside.
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Being eliminated from the Champions League in back-to-back years in the Round of 16 would almost guarantee a change coming because PSG could only win one trophy this season. It is puzzling when you think about how extraordinary each player was recently at the World Cup. Neymar was sensational for Brazil, and it definitely made a difference in their play when he went down with his ankle injury. Messi and Mbappe put on a show for the ages in the final where Mbappe scored a hat trick that nearly won France their second consecutive World Cup. Why can't they find the same level at PSG?
No Ligue 1 trophy will be any consolation for this team if Bayern Munich knock them out of the Champions League. They certainly have a tough task for the return leg in Germany in a few weeks. With Neymar once again spraining his ankle this past weekend, his status for that Bayern game is up in the air. Potentially one of the biggest what if stories and failures in world soccer if this trio broke up after two years of not having won much more than a league trophy. It’s not all lost for PSG at the moment, but it seems like time is running out.
