With Galtier and Campos reunited, will PSG's change in approach pay off?

Five years ago today, Paris Saint-Germain sent shockwaves through world football when they paid a record fee to bring Brazilian superstar Neymar from La Liga heavyweight Barcelona.

The 222 million euros spent by PSG on Neymar remains by far the highest amount a team has ever paid for a player. Next on that list? Kylian Mbappe, who swapped Monaco for PSG during this same transfer window, initially on loan, for a sum amounting to 180 M€.

Indeed, over the past five years, gross spending by Parisians has reached 792 million euros, about 40% more than the previous five-year period. If it wasn't clear enough when it took over Qatar Sports Investments in 2011, PSG won't stop in their quest to become the best team in the world.

Yet here we are, more than a decade after that acquisition, five years after Mbappe and Neymar arrived, and 12 months after Lionel Messi - the greatest player to ever play the game in the eyes of many – joining from Barcelona, ​​and PSG have very little to show for that.

Even winning Ligue 1 on a regular basis has been a struggle over this period, with Lille and Monaco each finishing top in the last six seasons, while only once have they made it to the final of the Champions League - not to mention winning the thing.

But after a period of change at the Parc des Princes, during which a new head coach and football adviser have been hired, the French giants look set to take a different approach on and off the pitch.

A winning combination

The crash in the knockout stages of the Coupe de France and the Champions League in particular last season cost head coach Mauricio Pochettino his job after just 18 months in charge.

After a failed attempt to appoint Zinedine Zidane, who appears to be intent on replacing Didier Deschamps as the next France national team coach, PSG opted against another big-name appointment and instead hired Christophe Galtier.

Tellingly, Galtier's appointment was made after Luis Campos took over as de facto sporting director, responsible for overseeing all transfer activity. The duo previously worked together at Lille to create the team that propelled PSG to the Ligue 1 title by one point in 2020-21.

Galtier, three-time Ligue 1 manager of the year, left Lille for Nice days after that stunning title triumph, despite lasting just one season on the French Riviera, the highlight being a run to the Coupe de France final, where they were beaten 1-0 by Nantes.

As for Campos, it was not only at Lille that he enjoyed great success, having also helped bring the likes of James Rodriguez, Fabinho, Anthony Martial, Bernardo Silva, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Thomas Lemar.< /p>

The bling days are over

So Campos clearly has his eye on a player, and that was reflected in PSG's transfer activity in a different kind of window this time around. The landmark signing of Messi last year gave way to the arrival of Nuno Mendes, Vitinha, Hugo Ekitike and Nordi Mukiele heading into the 2022-23 season.

Even taking into account the 38 million euros and 41.5 million euros that PSG handed over for the first two players, neither of them falls into the category of signings that we are used to see at the Parc des Princes.

This is a clear tactic of the club, with President Nasser Al-Khelaifi himself admitting in an interview with Le Parisien earlier this year that "dreaming is one thing, reality is another". and that PSG is "no longer worth being flashy or bling-bling; it's the end of glitter".

Instead, Galtier will look to fit the starving quartet of Mendes, Vitinha, Ekitike and Mukiele into his squad, which already contains a cast of all-star talent on the pitch, especially in attack where Messi, Mbappe and Neymar form one of the greatest trios of all time.

On paper, at least, as the top three didn't exactly click last season as many expected and Galtier has remained coy on the subject of Neymar's future since replacing Pochettino .

Sixth lucky manager in his quest for the Champions League crown?

With a new head coach comes a new approach, and Galtier was quick to put in place a code of conduct for PSG's pre-season tour of Japan. Not only that, the 55-year-old made it clear in his first press conference in charge of exactly what he expects from every player.

"I want to see the intensity, the pace and the players getting the ball back up the pitch quickly," he said. "I haven't met the players yet but I've spoken with management about what I want to do: high standards, hard work, respect and the team above all.

"No player will be above the team. My goal is for this sum of talent to become a great team with great strength. I am convinced that together we can have the best season possible. If the players come out of this framework, they will be...