The catastrophic 2022-23 season for PSG!

The beginning of a new era

After a disappointing 2021-2022 financial year and yet another incredible elimination from the Champions League, Nasser al-Khelaïfi sets the new course for Paris Saint-Germain. In an interview given to Parisian, the president of PSG announces the end of the “bling-bling” and the beginning of a new era. Symbol of this new policy, the duo Luis Campos-Christophe Galtier arrives in the capital. Exit players like Di Maria, Paredes or Icardi replaced by less flashy profiles like Fabian Ruiz, Vitinha or Hugo Ekitike. The season begins full of promise. Paris crushes Nantes 4-0 and wins the Champions Trophy. In the league, Les Rouge et Bleu have had brilliant successes as a demonstration in Lille. Les Dogues are humiliated 7 goals to 1. With Christophe Galtier, PSG finally seems to have found the magic formula.

PSG and the controversies

Because Paris is Paris, the club of the capital connects business. On August 13, 2022, PSG travel against Montpellier. But when Paris gets a penalty, Neymar and Mbappé bicker over who should do it. A new penalty-gate which highlights the tension between the two stars of the team. The first scandal in a long series that will pollute the Parisian season. Three weeks later, Paris begin their European season against Juventus. Present at a press conference with Kylian Mbappé, Christophe Galtier is asked about the mode of travel of the club from the capital. A journalist asks the French technician if the PSG could favor the train to the plane. Next to his hilarious striker, the former Nice coach responds with irony “sand yachting“. A catastrophic communication which parasitizes the preparation of the shock against Turin. And Paris is not at the end of its troubles. Unhappy with his positioning after a draw against Reims in early October, Kylian Mbappé publishes a mysterious message on his Instagram account: “Draw, meeting Tuesday. #Icicestparis. #pivotgang“.

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The Christophe Galtier scandal

As so often at PSG, an elimination in the Champions League is synonymous with the end of the season. The quest for the Cup with big ears is still the obsession of the capital club. Nevertheless, the Parisian club has a goal to save a very gloomy season: to win the 11th league title in its history. A mission that the Parisians must carry out without Neymar, injured in the ankle against LOSC (4-3) and who had to end his season. The end of this exercise is long and trying, both for the club and for the supporters. And to make matters worse, it’s coach Christophe Galtier’s turn to be in turmoil. The French tactician is accused of racism by his former sports director in Nice. The rating of the Parisian coach is at its lowest and all the Parisian people are calling for his resignation. For the supporters, enough is enough.

The Lionel Messi bomb

On the sporting side, if PSG reassures itself by beating its runner-up RC Lens on April 15, 2023 (3-1), a new controversy breaks out. The day after PSG’s defeat against Lorient (1-3), Lionel Messi skipped training to go to Saudi Arabia as part of his ambassadorial partnership. While the quest for the title is not yet assured, the absence of the sevenfold Ballon d’Or is causing a stir. Although the Parisian club has never officially communicated, the Argentinian is sanctioned for his round trip to the Gulf. The person even apologizes to the club in a video posted on his social networks. But this episode certainly marks the end of the story between Lionel Messi and Paris Saint-Germain.