PSG was advised to change the squad's blood
"PSG should rip up their whole project and start over," commented Hargreaves after PSG's 0-2 loss to Bayern in the second leg of the 1/8 Champions League round on March 8. "PSG has almost no potential French players on the team, it's ridiculous."
The British player cited the fact that Bayern is proud to own the best stars in Germany such as Thomas Muller, Jamal Musiala, Joshua Kimmich or Leon Goretzka.
On the Allianz field yesterday, PSG entered the game well and had two delicious opportunities of Lionel Messi and Vitinha. In the 26th minute, from Nuno Mendes' cross, the Argentine star could not cushion the ball before the closeness of Alphonso Davies and goalkeeper Yann Sommer. Less than 10 minutes later, Sommer lost the ball and let Vitinha shoot into the empty goal, but Mathijs de Ligt moved back to clear the ball just above the line.
Wasting the opportunity, the Ligue 1 representative had to pay the price as Eric Choupo-Moting and Serge Gnabry scored for Bayern in the second half, respectively. The result of losing 0-3 over two legs made PSG have a second consecutive elimination in the round of 16, after losing to Real in the 2021-2022 season.
According to Hargreaves, PSG should only invest in one or two stars to lead young players, and need to recruit potential French players. The 42-year-old former midfielder listed players who could potentially play for PSG including Youssouf Fofana, Christopher Nkunku and Ousmane Dembele. "PSG can win Ligue 1 with these young French players, but must rip off the current project," Hargreaves insisted.
Fofana, born in Paris in 1999, and currently plays for AS Monaco, while Nkunku is a striker for RB Leipzig and reached an agreement to join Chelsea for a fee of $ 60 million in the summer of 2023. Last season, he had 35 goals and 20 assists. Through 52 matches in all competitions, Leipzig won the German Cup, and personally won the title of Best Player in the Bundesliga and the German Cup.
Dembele was once targeted by PSG, but joined Barca for $ 115 million from Dortmund, to replace Neymar in 2017. At Camp Nou, he helped Barca win two La Ligas, two King's Cups and a Spanish Super Cup.
Joe Cole shared his opinion when he thought that PSG needed to invest in French players. The British player also said that Messi, Mbappe and Neymar distract PSG with problems off the field that often become the focus of attention.
"The difference between Bayern and PSG is how the club is run," Cole analyzed. "With PSG, superstars come in and there always seems to be trouble. Bayern don't have that. They go through difficult times, but always stay inside. PSG have the best players of 20. In the past year, there are young French players scattered throughout Europe. I think the PSG project in the end looks like it will fail."
