For the last decade, beating Paris Saint-Germain to the title has required exceptional circumstances. Monaco’s 2016-17 triumph was aided by the emergence of generational talent Kylian Mbappe while COVID-enforced stadium closures characterised Lille’s 2020-21 victory, robbing Paris’ Parc des Princes of its impregnable aura.
This season, however, there’s a sense that PSG are at their most vulnerable for a decade and a clutch of competitive challengers sense an opportunity as the champions struggle with an existential crisis.
With Lionel Messi gone, Kylian Mbappe formally announcing that he won’t sign another contract when his current one expires next summer,-style recruitment policy has failed, while the meandering of Christophe Galtier’s turbulent final few weeks in charge saw the project hit a new low.
