The summer of 2017 summarizes the projects of PSG and Manchester City.
On the one hand, 402 million euros on two names: Neymar and Kylian Mbappé.
A superstar and his future to carry Parisian ambitions.
On the other, nearly 300 million euros on six players, including four defenders and a goalkeeper: Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker, Danilo and Ederson.
Like any summary, it is a bit cliché, but demonstrates the different strategies of two extremely rich clubs: when one wants two big names, the other seeks less brilliant reinforcements for his collective.
The common point between Paris and City dates back to 2016, a few months after their only confrontation in C1, a quarter-final won by the British (2-2; 1-0).
Qatari shareholders must manage after Zlatan Ibrahimovic and find a new ambassador.
Their Emirati counterparts trust Pep Guardiola.
"For his game plan, Guardiola needed defenders, full-backs and central," said Sam Lee, City specialist for The Athletic.
Internationalization of arrivals
Under the orders of the Catalan, the English team recruited for nearly 500 million euros in the defensive sector. A strategy that leads Manchester City to set new records, such as the 21 consecutive wins signed between December 19 and March 7. “We have a lot of money to recruit incredible players,” smiled Guardiola at a press conference when explaining this record. The technician is not wrong: since 2008 and the takeover of City by the United Abu Dhabi Group, 2 billion euros have been injected into the transfer market. Property of Qatar Sports Investments since 2011, PSG has spent 1.3 billion in this area.
But when the Parisians sign checks for 222 million euros for Neymar and 180 million euros for Mbappé, the Citizens never exceed the sum of 76 million euros. It was for Kevin De Bruyne in 2015. “The leaders do not want other clubs to think they are ready for anything,” continues Sam Lee. For several years, they have especially needed to rebuild a solid base. But I am sure that discussions took place for Mbappé in 2017 or for Lionel Messi last year. This summer, the Erling Haaland dossier will be an option. There will be less need to recruit and maybe they will invest more than 100 or 150 million euros on a single player. "
In 14 years at the head of City, the Emirati shareholder has already evolved several times, from recruiting stars (Robinho, Carlos Tévez, Sergio Agüero) to very promising young people (Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sané). He also went from a recruitment focused on the Premier League (from 2008 to 2013) to an internationalization of arrivals. PSG does not invest in the majority in Ligue 1. Finally, Manchester City also knows how to draw from very young people, such as the Ukrainian left side Oleksandr Zinchenko. An axis on which the City Football Group, made up of 10 clubs, including Troyes in France, wishes to rely on for the future.
