'Just fantasy!' - PSG torn apart for Galactico transfer policy that saw them sign Lionel Messi as ex-France World Cup winner suggests they'd have NEVER won Champions League with Kylian Mbappe

Mbappe moved to Parc des Princes in the same summer of 2017 as Brazilian superstar Neymar completed his record-breaking €222 million (£194m/$261m) transfer from Barcelona. They were joined by Argentine GOAT Messi in the summer of 2021.

Ligue 1 titles were secured when fielding the most star-studded of attacking units, but continental glory proved elusive. Messi and Neymar left for Inter Miami and Al-Hilal respectively in 2023, with Mbappe becoming a Real Madrid ‘Galactico’ a year later.

With that iconic trio moved on - Mbappe departing as the club’s all-time leading goalscorer - PSG claimed a historic Champions League crown in 2025, with leading marksman Ousmane Dembele going on to become a Ballon d’Or winner.

Quizzed on whether Mbappe will have any regrets at having swapped the French capital for its Spanish equivalent, 1998 World Cup winner Leboeuf - speaking in association with ToonieBet - told GOAL: “Would Paris Saint-Germain have won the Champions League with him? That is the main question. People think in France, no. Luis Enrique was very clever. Can you believe he got rid of Neymar, Messi and Mbappe in order to win the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain? It says a lot about football.

“Football is not about superstars, it is about chemistry between players. If some don’t do their job, tracking back, you don’t end up winning anything. It happened to Paris Saint-Germain. That was a real shambles. You had three guys up front and eight other guys, but not a team.

“As soon as Mbappe left, and it’s not a coincidence, Luis Enrique was able to put down a tactic to make sure that everybody was working the same way. Suddenly, it took like four months for Paris Saint-Germain to make it work and they became the best team in the world. I don’t think that would have been possible with Mbappe.

“Real Madrid had to face that because in the early 2000s they did the same - getting [David] Beckham, [Zinedine] Zidane, Ronaldo. They had a hard time to win stuff because one superstar is already difficult, but two superstars it becomes impossible and three superstars is just fantasy. When you have Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe, it’s really hard. You have to put them on the field and then build the team around them. Football doesn’t work that way, never. Xabi Alonso right now is struggling.”

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Former PSG manager Luis Fernandez has previously told SPORT of PSG becoming stronger without a collection of icons: “For me if, if PSG had the Messi from five years ago, when he was at Barca, I would surely say that it was better with Messi and Neymar, but this PSG is much more of a team. Neymar arrived with Mbappe, but injuries and other problems never allowed him to show his talent.

“With him PSG reached the Champions League final in the year of Covid. So, they were together for 20 days and that was good for the group. It is not good to give so much freedom to players. Luis Enrique doesn't give it. He had Messi, Neymar, [Luis] Suarez at Barca and he knows how to treat these stars. Obviously, Messi and Neymar have a lot of talent, but the difference is made by the coach. Luis Enrique can change a star in the 60th minute, like he has done with Mbappe, the others did not do it.”

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi told a meeting of the European Club Association (ECA) on the same subject matter: “This is a new era for us; we are very grateful to Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe for everything they have given to the club. With all due respect to them and for what they have done for the club, I wish them the best in their new challenges; but as a club, the star is the collective. PSG is focusing on the collective, on having a great team with a great coach, which we have.”

PSG won a Ligue 1, Coupe de France and Champions League treble last season. They have since gone on to win the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Intercontinental Cup. Mbappe is still waiting for his first European triumph and Ballon d’Or, despite maintaining impressive individual standards at Real Madrid.