Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser al-Khelaifi put a four-year deadline on winning the Champions League.That was five years ago. Now PSG has suffered its most humbling Champions League defeat under Qatar Sports Investment ownership.
That was five hours ago. And the embarrassment will linger for much longer than that.However you spin it, time is not on PSG’s side – sardonic, because time is the one thing the club isn’t willing to spend. Wednesday’s loss to Manchester United will be talked about for referee Damir Skomina’s decision to award a late penalty. It will be talked about for further confusing the definition of a handball. It will be talked about for Gianluigi Buffon’s blue moon blunder that led to the second goal.
Let’s talk about it for PSG, too. United was without suspended superstar Paul Pogba, down two away goals entering the second leg, and inexplicably lethargic going forward for much of the second half. This is a game PSG should have won going away. Instead, the French giants are the only thing “going away” now. For the seventh straight season, they won’t get past the Champions League quarterfinals. For the third straight season, they won’t even get past the round of 16.
And they can’t just throw money at this. Throwing money at this is what got them here.