PSG could be forced to lose both Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, as questions continue to loom over their Financial Fair Play status.
Despite having a squad that includes Messi, Mbappe and Neymar, the French giants once again failed to get past the last 16 of the Champions League.
Their loss to Bayern Munich on Wednesday, thanks for Matthijs de Ligt’s goal line clearance, means they’ve only twice gone further than the first knockout stages in the past six years.
After the game, which Neymar missed through injury, Messi was on the end of most of the criticism, with one pundit claiming the World Cup winner, who scored twice in the final, went missing in big games
There is questions as to whether that loss to Bayern, the Messi’s biggest foes in Europe, could be his last game in the Champions League.
His contract is up in the summer at the Parc des Princes, with rumours of a move to MLS refusing to go away, although he’s also been linked with a return to Barcelona.
Mbappe could also leave in the summer, with claims that he’s been unhappy since last October, despite signing a new contract just months before.
According to AS, the club may have to lose both of them, in order to be in keeping with UEFA’s FFP rules, and avoid possible expulsion from the Champions League.
The club were handed a €55 million fine by UEFA last summer, with €45 million being suspended, and warned that they could face harsher punishment if they continued to break FFP.
Mbappe and Neymar could both leave in the summer. Image: Alamy
The report by the Spanish outlet says that the club have accumulated costs of around €370 million in the past year, meaning there will have to be an aggressive reduction of their wage bill and spending.
If they don’t manage it then they would have to pay the rest of their fine from last summer, although further sanctions are also possible.
That could mean struggling to register any signings that they make, as Barcelona have had issues with in recent years, or a reduction in the amount of players they can register for the Champions League.
Even more severe could be facing a suspension from UEFA competitions, including the Europa League and Europa Conference League, although that would be for the 2024/25 season at the earliest.
Neymar is the club’s third highest paid player and he is also expected to have played his final game for them, with his recent injury keeping him out until the summer.
