New kit brightens up PSG's Champions League woes and Mbappé's farewell
The king is dead. Long live the bling. What better way for the Paris Saint-Germain hierarchy to eclipse Kylian Mbappé's dullness in the Champions League against Dortmund and their elimination from the tournament than by unveiling the side's revamped home strip for the 2024/25 season.
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A fine back to the future thing it is too. A modern interpretation of the kit designed in the 1970s by the fashion legend Daniel Hechter.
The new look is inspired by the urban art that permeates Greater Paris, PSG said in a statement.
"It's an original nod to the disruptive identity of the Parisian club, recognised as the club of the new generation," gushed the hyperbole.
On a prosaic note, the shirt, which costs 149 euros for adults and 129 euros for children, features Dri-FIT ADV technology which has been developed at the Nike Sport Research Lab in Beaverton in the United States.
Work
"Thanks to the work carried out to optimise mobility, breathability and ventilation, the texture and design of the 2024-2025 jersey offers PSG's players the conditions they need to optimise their experience and help them shine in all competitions."
Well, yes, except one ... the Champions League.
And as avid PSG fans start ordering the wonder gear from this weekend, they will be reflecting on another failed bid to land European club football's most prestigious trophy.
Those woes were compounded on Friday night when Mbappé confirmed that he will be off to pastures new at the end of season. While the replica shirts get their first airings, the wearers will be pondering who will emerge as PSG's next star striker.
Elimination
On Tuesday night at the Parc des Princes, Borussia Dortmund – fifth in the German Bundesliga – beat PSG 1-0 to advance 2-0 on aggregate to advance to the Champions League final in three weeks at Wembley. Dortmund will take on Real Madrid who are expected to be Mbappé's next port of call.
That he should care about the super lustrousness of the new PSG shirt. He'll doubtless look the part in Madrid's fabled all-white strip and start the career in the Spanish capital that he nearly launched two years ago.
Mbappé, who was born in Bondy some 20km to the north-east of the Parc des Princes, opted after months of prevarication to stay at his home town club in order to spearhead PSG's push for their first Champions League trophy.
But Bundesliga outfits have kiboshed the quests for glory.
In 2023, Bayern Munich accounted for PSG in the last-16 and Dortmund did the damage this month.
A record 12th Ligue 1 title secured, the PSG boss Luis Enrique doesn't need to field Mbappé on Sunday night against mid-table Toulouse.
But it would be a tad odd if the 53-year-old Spaniard didn't succumb to sentiment and the melodrama to give Mbappé one last chance to score in front of the faithful especially after the paean to Mbappé on Saturday afternoon.
"All I can say is marvellous things about Kylian Mbappé as a footballer and person," Enrique enthused.
"I understand his decision. He has been here for seven years and has become a club legend.
"He has given everything to this club and this club has given him everything as well. I wish him all the best for the future."
Challenge
Mbappé, boasting 26 league goals, is nine ahead of Lille's Jonathan David – his nearest rival – and is virtually assured of another Ligue 1 'golden boot' to add to the five stashed away in his cabinet.
He will probably be part of the starting side that contests the final of the Coupe de France against Lyon on 25 May in Lille.
"We've got one more cup to play for," Enrique said. "It is important to win it for the club and everyone concerned with it. We need to be ready for that."
That bauble their sole focus, Enrique's men should be too strong for Lyon. And the season should conclude with three out of a four possible trophies.
Not bad by any standards.
"Regardless of those who are here or who are absent, my aim is to be stronger next season," added Enrique whose side beat Toulouse in Janaury to lift the French Super Cup.
"PSG will continue to be a great team and we'll get even better. We will bring in players with strong mentality and players who identify with the club. That's how life works."
Replacement
But the absence of a 25-goal-a-season metronome will test Enrique's feted coaching skills. Gonçalo Ramos and Randal Kolo Muani have three Ligue 1 games and that Coupe de France final to suggest the future can be bright without Mbappé.
Outside the PSG bubble, the intrigue remains as to the identity of the two teams who will join the French champions in the group stages of next season's Champions League.
On Friday night, third-placed Brest could only manage a 1-1 draw at home to Reims to leave them with 58 points after 33 games. Lille can leapfrog Brest on Sunday night with a win at relegation- threatened Nantes.
Monaco, who are second, will secure their berth for the Champions League with a point at Montpellier on Sunday night.
At the other end of the food chain, Le Havre's 1-0 defat at Nice on Friday night leaves them with an anxious few weeks fighting with Nantes, Lorient, Clermont and Metz to avoid an automatic relegation slot or the relegation play-off place.
Such struggles exist in a galaxy far, far away for the likes of PSG and Mbappé. And if La Liga does become his new domain, the question after his outings with France at the European championships will arise: can the Bondy boy wonder become Madrid's main man?
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