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Former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star Javier Pastore has praised the club for improving despite losing Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe. The Paris-based club has made it to the final of the UEFA Champions League despite losing the three players who were considered the crown jewels of their project.
Discussing his former side’s fortunes, Pastore said in a recent interview with AS ahead of the Champions League final on May 31:
“PSG has changed a lot of players. They have replaced the best players in the world, those with a lot of name and impact, Messi, Mbappe, Neymar, Verratti, very important players on a footballing level, in the dressing room... with a much younger and more talented team. They have the best young players in the world, along with Barcelona."
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"I was the most expensive signing in Europe that year (55 million). It had a big impact. I didn't give it so much importance, because there was still not so much talk about transfers and money. Years later came Neymar, something unprecedented. We didn't think that a player could have that market price. But watching him play and then having him as a teammate, the price was too small. He broke football, he broke everything, because of the magnitude of his transfer.”
Pastore went on to hail Luis Enrique for his achievements with PSG this season following Mbappe's departure, saying:
“Luis Enrique, with a lot of hard work, has turned the criticisms they had into praise. Hats off to him. Success without Kylian? No club coach would want Mbappe to leave for another team. These are decisions that are made at a certain point in his career. Mbappe has equally had an incredible year and without playing in his natural position. He felt it was time for a change of scenery, of club, of country. It was his choice.”
Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe could only help La Parisians to domestic glory despite their massive wages. The younger contingent at the club will hope they can give the club the best piece of silverware they have yet to claim.
Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Neymar's PSG legacy
Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Neymar were three of the best players on the planet when they represented PSG at the same time between 2021 and 2023. Despite their abilities, the trio accomplished everything except perhaps the sole reason they were assembled in Paris, the UEFA Champions League crown.
Neymar was the first to arrive at the club, joining from Barcelona in the summer of 2017 for a €222 million world-record fee. He scored 118 times and provided 79 assists in 173 games to help the side to five Ligue 1 titles, three French Cups, and two League Cups. He then left for Al-Hilal for €90 million in 2023.
Mbappe joined the French giants from AS Monaco initially on a loan deal in 2017 before making the move permanent for €180 million the next year. He is PSG’s record goalscorer with 256 goals and 107 assists in 308 games, winning six League titles, four French Cups, and two League Cups. He joined Real Madrid on a free transfer in the summer of 2024.
Lionel Messi joined in the summer of 2021 after his contract with Barcelona could not be renewed because of the Catalan side’s well-documented financial troubles. He left as a free agent two years later to join Inter Miami after helping the team to two league titles with 32 goals and 35 assists in 75 appearances.
