The French club has disbursed 1,589 million euros since the 2011-2012 season.
Paris Saint-Germain again exited in the round of 16 of the Champions League for a second straight year. The coveted “orejona” continues to elude the club, even as its leadership insists on big investments as the key to European success. The owner, Qatar’s Al-Khelaifi, has steered a financial engine that has poured hundreds of millions into players and staff since 2011-2012, totaling 1,589 million euros in transfers alone.
A long list of players and coaches has walked through Parc des Princes, chasing the dream of lifting European glory. Their closest approach came in the 2019-20 campaign, when they reached the final only to perish against Bayern Munich. That season featured Thomas Tuchel at the helm, and the following year saw the squad earn its second-best league finish while advancing to the semi-finals under Mauricio Pochettino. Beyond that, results have included a group stage exit from the Europa League, four appearances in the Champions League quarter-finals, and five runs to the knockout stage of Europe’s premier competition.
Two notable exceptions have shaped the narrative: the difficult night at Barcelona, a 6-1 setback that is rarely forgotten, and the consistent theme of high-stakes investment. The seasons leading to the decisive matches have seen serious sums spent, with the club’s spending in the window before a pivotal European night sometimes exceeding 95 million euros, and occasionally climbing to 62 million in other campaigns. The 2018/19 season stands out for the arrival of Kylian Mbappé, where PSG’s outlay neared 262 million euros, a bold statement of intent. The following year, the move for Neymar drove expenditures to about 238 million euros.
Over the years, the club has also leaned on a high-profile coaching and management cadre. Names such as Carlo Ancelotti, Laurent Blanc, Unai Emery, and Christophe Galtier have been attached to the project, underscoring the club’s willingness to change perspectives in pursuit of success. Yet the broader reality is clear: big names alone do not guarantee trophies in football, and PSG’s European journey has shown the limits of money without the right balance of timing, cohesion, and sporting intuition (Goal).