We would have spent a cent in the business, we could put it like that and not just leaning on the bar of a bar from the world before: we did not get our money's worth.
The Neymar - Mbappé association, brought together for 402 million euros in 2017, has not yet produced its effects.
PSG, author of the two checks - 222 million euros for the Brazilian, 180 million euros for the French - can grumble on its own.
The idea, brilliant on paper, only resulted in a Champions League final in four years of existence.
Obviously, no one questions their talent or their genius, their science of the game or the concentration of opposing gazes (and defenders' markings) on them.
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Kylian Mbappé has just got rid of the great FC Barcelona on his own, who lost only twice in regulation time during his 23 outings in 2021. During the Final 8 in Lisbon, Neymar, even without scoring in this tournament ending the Champions League in an unprecedented format due to the pandemic, hoisted his people to the top.
But he eclipsed at the top, against Bayern, when his French sidekick was trailing ankle pain which only escaped him at the end of 2020. For once, it was the Bondynois who was injured.
Because if the duo struggles to show sparks in Europe, it is mainly because of the odds and passes from Neymar.
With Pochettino, a redesigned offensive animation
Suspended or in the infirmary, number ten has mostly prevented the tandem from moving forward for four years.
He often leaves Mbappé alone on the front line, who then benefits or suffers from the provisions of the rest of the team.
In 2019, a great match allowed PSG to get ahead of Manchester United in the round of 16 first leg (2-0) and the Blues striker, scorer, to shine.
On the return, he slipped and his ten partners with him, from Thilo Kehrer to Gianluigi Buffon via Presnel Kimpembe (1-3).
Le Ney insulted the referee and his use of the VAR from his box at the Parc des Princes, which is rarely a way of making himself useful.
If Unai Emery did not leave a legacy as to their association during the 2017-2018 season, his successor, Thomas Tuchel, from the summer of 2018 to the end of 2020, had created a game system centered on Neymar.
Everything had to go through him, with the double limit that the former Barcelona player was often absent and that the coach had not imagined a plan B.
With Mauricio Pochettino, the team's center of gravity is gradually changing.
The Argentine coach had the idea of bringing Marco Verratti closer to Mbappé to improve their automatisms and no longer depend only on the inspirations of Neymar.
The seven-week absence of the Brazilian, injured in Caen on February 10 and again titular against Lille last Saturday, allowed him to work on other ways of considering the offensive animation.
What he saw at Camp Nou reinforced him in his belief: if Mbappé is put in the best conditions, he will beat up anyone anywhere.
Pochettino has extended the realm of wrestling and areas of influence.
Opponents next year?
But this Wednesday, the technician will have no choice: Verratti is positive for the Covid, Neymar finally back in the Champions League and Mbappé still there.
He will field them for the first time this season in the Champions League.
So it's off again for a round, with this double revenge in the air.
The two attackers want to erase their performance of August 23, where they had too little offensive weight against the wall of Bayern Munich and its goalkeeper, the extra Manuel Neuer, a landlord from elsewhere.
They would also like to impress the world, to show that the two of them together, it works, that they will leave a common mark in the history of the club as in the Champions League.
For the moment, this is not the case but there is an emergency.
If one stays, the other leaves.
Nothing is certain but we may take the path, we fear it above all.
Who knows if they will still have many opportunities to blaze together at PSG on the grounds of Munich, Manchester or Real Madrid?
To date, there is more risk of finding them, from next season, opponents in the European Cup than associate benefactors.
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In the meantime, it is a group that remains convinced that it has a chance to play in this quarter-final against Bayern.
Scoring and playing fair seems to them a good start to the manual.
Two aspects that Neymar and Mbappé master better than the others.
The last impression usually wins out, even what has been spoiled before.
It is frankly an evening to leave us on a memorable note.
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