"Was very important for the club" - Ex-PSG chief explains how club benefited from arrival of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe

Former Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonard Araujo has explained how the club benefitted from the arrivals of Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr., and Kylian Mbappe.

During an interview with After Foot, Leonardo, who served as PSG’s director of football across two different spells, said the presence of Messi, Neymar and Mbappe did not only increase the visibility of the club but also made it bigger.

“Having players like Messi, Neymar, Ibrahimović, and Mbappé was very important for the club. And not just in terms of visibility: it helped to build the club and make it bigger,” he claimed.

Among the trio, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe were the first to join PSG, with the duo signing for the club in the same window—2017—from Barcelona and Monaco, respectively. Mbappe moved to the French capital just a few days after PSG broke the transfer record for Neymar’s signature. The triumvirate was completed after Lionel Messi made a surprise move to the French capital as a free agent in the summer of 2021.

Their time together at the Parc des Princes was marked by a period of complete dominance of French football. During the two seasons they spent together, they won two Ligue 1 titles and one Trophee des Champions. However, their time together didn’t yield the expected results on the European stage, as they failed to win the club its first Champions League title.

“There will be fights” – Former PSG star on why Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe trio was ‘impossible’

In October, ex-PSG star Rafinha explained why the era of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe didn’t work in the French capital. Speaking on the Charla podcast, Rafinha claimed the club had too many superstars in each position, making it difficult for any coach to manage egos and playing time fairly.

"During pre-season, in the first training session where everyone was there, I said: 'it's impossible for this to work'.,” he said. “It starts in goal: Keylor Navas or Donnarumma. Whoever doesn't play gets pissed. There will be fights, arguments with the coach. Defense: Marquinhos, starter, nobody will take him out, Kimpembe, PSG idol, and Sergio Ramos. Full-back was top three for each of them. In attack, Di María, Mbappé, Neymar and Messi.

"Who are you taking out? Di María, because of his weight, and even then he's not a player you can take out. It's impossible for it to work. For a coach, it's impossible. It was the best team in the world in terms of players, in terms of names, but at the same time, difficult because of how you're going to manage it. [...] I wasn't playing, so I was just watching."

Rafinha’s view of what the team would turn out to be during Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe’s era was spot-on, as their partnerships were at times strained by issues like playing time and perceived jealousy.