It was not long ago that Paris Saint-Germain spent over €400 million on just two players. Granted, those two players were Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. But, still, the fees were ridiculous. Neymar's transfer, which smashed the world record by more than €100 million, rippled into hugely inflated transfer fees across European football. FC Barcelona, which received the record-breaking sum, went on a reckless spending spree, signing three players for more than €100 million each.
Now, Barcelona does not have enough money (the simple version of a complex political stand-off within Spanish football) to renew the contract of (arguably) the greatest player of all time and he is looking likely to join PSG. If this was a Bond movie, this would be the needlessly complex plan by the villain. But, even the most zealous football conspiracy theorist would not say PSG planned all this to get Lionel Messi. Of course, it did not. If the Argentine does join PSG, the club merely benefited from the mistakes of the hare-brained Barcelona president Joan Laporta.
But, to give credit where it is due, while the rest of the football world has, over the past few seasons, literally paid the price for PSG's outlay on Neymar and Mbappe, the French club has gone about its business more astutely. This summer, apart from the €60 million signing of Achraf Hakimi, 22, it has brought in one quality player after the other for "free". However, not many clubs in world football would be able to do these free deals. The wages being offered are exorbitant (Messi would have to be offered somewhere in the region of €1 million per week). Add to that the fees being pocketed by the players' agents and it would amount to more than the annual budget of many a professional club.
Nonetheless, the players signed by PSG on free deals this summer are Georginio Wijnaldum, 30, one of Europe's top midfielders (who rejected Barcelona in favour of Paris), Sergio Ramos, 35, who was (arguably) the world's best defender in the last decade, and Gianluigi Donnarumma, 22, who is expected to be the world's best goalkeeper in this decade. If PSG were to also get Messi without paying a transfer fee, this would surely have to be considered the best transfer window for a club ever. But, beyond the optics and the marketing opportunities, how will Messi's potential signing fit into PSG's quest for the UEFA Champions League?
Among the formations PSG's Argentine manager Mauricio Pochettino could opt for, the most obvious one that comes to mind is the 4-3-3. Pochettino has generally preferred back fours throughout his career. Therefore, despite the signing of Hakimi, who is expected to be among the world's best wing-backs in this decade, Pochettino is unlikely to go with a back three and wing-backs. The 4-3-3 would give him the opportunity to create a modified version of the Messi-Suarez-Neymar (MSN) attacking trio that terrorised defences for the first half of the 2010s. Luis Suarez's place would be taken by the already world-class Mbappe, 22.
So, MMN seems like the way to go. Adding to its appeal are PSG's attacking full-backs/wing-backs such as Layvin Kurzawa and Hakimi. As Messi and Neymar cut in from the right and the left respectively, the wide defenders can bomb past them on overlapping runs. This would help stretch defences to the breaking point. Another key addition would be Wijnaldum. The Dutchman can break into late runs into the box, safe in the knowledge that he has two world-class wingmen to feed him well-timed balls. What Messi would bring to this attack is his maturity and his decision making. Unlike Mbappe and Neymar, who can sometimes be selfish or self-absorbed, Messi will always do what is right for the team.
However, playing a 4-3-3 against the top teams in the Champions League could be slightly risky. While Messi is still a level above the rest, there is no questioning that he is on the decline. So, against tougher opposition than what the French league can provide, especially against English teams, there could be a defensive gap on PSG's right flank, if Messi is overwhelmed by defensive numbers and Hakimi does not get back sharply. The defensive burden would then fall squarely on the holding midfielders, who are likely to be dragged wide, pulling PSG out of shape. However, there aren't too many teams in world football which have the quality to turn this into a significant advantage against such a talented PSG team. Teams like Bayern Munich, Juventus, Manchester City and Chelsea, however, are credible threats in this regard.
Perhaps, it then makes more sense to play Messi in a freer role. The false 9 system would be perfect for this. In this scenario, Messi can just be left to orchestrate things from a central role. With the likes of Mbappe and Neymar to feed, the overlapping full-backs and midfield runners joining the attack, Messi would most definitely flourish as the false 9. Moreover, since he has positional freedom, he would be difficult—almost impossible—to mark. One slight problem with this approach would be that Messi has to be left free of any defensive responsibility, except in case of emergencies. This would mean others could be overworked. But that can be managed with the proper use of substitutions.
Giving Messi a central role would mean doing away with the dream attacking trio of MMN. But this is likely to be the best position for Messi, especially in a team in which he would be surrounded with so much attacking talent. Even if Messi is put on the right in league matches, in the bigger games, he can serve the team better by being in the centre. In these games, Messi should not be judged by things as simplistic as goals or assists. But, by how well he is bringing his teammates into play. In this role, Messi may indeed be the missing ingredient in PSG's recipe for Champions League glory.
