From ‘Bling-Bling’ to balanced brilliance - PSG’s transformation is a modern masterclass

Analysis

Robin Bairner | Chief Editor

Accredited football journalist and editor covering the game since 2006

It’s been nearly four years since PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi announced the end of the club’s ‘Bling-bling’ era, in what has been one of the defining decisions of European football in the 2020s.

Al-Khelaifi’s comments were a watershed moment that led to PSG claiming their long-awaited Champions League crown in 2025 – a title they could back up when they face Arsenal in Budapest on Saturday.

The Parc des Princes side had been known for flashy spending but ultimately little substance before those words. After, a whole new world would eventually be opened up.

PSG: The evolution of a club

PSG’s transformation did not come overnight. It would be a year before Neymar and Lionel Messi departed the club, and 12 months more before Kylian Mbappe left under a cloud for Real Madrid.

Mbappe’s decision may have been foisted on the Parisians involuntarily, yet this was also a crucial catalyst towards their success. The France international had been a superstar crutch that they continued to lean on, but his attitude was unsuitable for the plans of head coach Luis Enrique, and in hindsight, the new PSG project.

The Spanish coach has been a crucial actor in the PSG story, but perhaps an even more valuable mastermind arrived days before Al-Khelaifi’s famous remarks. Luis Campos joined the club as a transfer advisor and immediately started laying the groundwork for a Champions League-winning side.

Within weeks, Vitinha, Nuno Mendes and Fabian Ruiz had arrived for a comparatively modest €102m. The following summer, Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola and Kang-In Lee all arrived, with Willian Pacho, Desire Doue and Joao Neves signing in 2025.

These signings, combined with a smattering of existing talent, most notably Achraf Hakimi and Marquinhos, and a healthy dose of the club’s youth academy – Warren Zaire-Emery, Senny Mayulu and Ibrahim Mbaye – have driven PSG to heights they dreamed of but were previously unable to scale.

A cultural shift

Make no mistake, this is not a squad constructed on a shoestring budget and nor has their recruitment been flawless.

But at a cost of around €400m, PSG’s starting XI in the Champions League final will be comparatively modest for such a stage. Arsenal, for example, spent more than €260m on Martin Zubimendi, Eberechi Eze, Viktor Gyokeres and Noni Madueke alone last summer.

What is most remarkable about what PSG have done, and what Luis Enrique has achieved, though, is the cultural transformation of the squad.

Once considered to be a toxic environment – the type of which Mbappe finds himself in again at Real Madrid – the Parc des Princes side have looked thoroughly harmonious together on the field.

While Arsenal’s unity is to be admired in a defensive sense, the artistry of PSG holds greater appeal for the neutral. At their best, Luis Enrique’s side work as one, each player providing brains, energy and no lack of technical skill.

This could scarcely be any different to the ‘Bling-bling’ days, when there was a sense that Neymar, Messi and Mbappe played as a unique unit from the rest and were absolved of any defensive responsibilities.

Al-Khelaifi’s promise holds true

When Al-Khelaifi made his speech four years ago, he set out a manifesto that PSG have stuck by:

“We need to become humble again. We need to change to avoid injuries, suspensions, and fouls that can turn a match around. We need to stop saying: ‘We want to win this and this and this.’ We need to build. We need to be disciplined, on and off the pitch.

“Anyone who wants to stay in their comfort zone, who doesn't want to fight, will be left behind.”

To many, his words were an admission of defeat: PSG’s mission to win the Champions League had failed. Instead, they were a rallying cry for change.

PSG left their comfort zone and flourished, leaving behind the baggage of their old superstars but also their rivals in Europe.