‘Neymar is not a project’ – Sacchi pinpoints PSG's failings

Legendary Italian coach Arrigo Sacchi has told Paris Saint-Germain that they need more than just Neymar if they hope to win the Champions League.

The Ligue 1 champions-elect crashed out of the competition at the last-16 stage for the second season in succession, beaten 2-1 by Real Madrid at Parc des Princes on Tuesday and going down 5-2 on aggregate. 

After a lavish summer spend, the headline of which was the purchase of the Brazil international ace for a world record fee of €222 million from Barcelona, it was a performance that came below the standards expected of them.

They were not aided by Neymar's absence from the second leg due to a broken foot - an issue that could yet see him sidelined for the rest of the domestic season.

And Sacchi, who had previously branded PSG's performance "very weak", believes that the 26-year-old star needs better support – not just on the field.

“A player, no matter how strong, is not a project,” the two-time European Cup-winning coach told L’Equipe. “Neymar, he’s not a project!

"Milan won Serie A in 1988 with Marco van Basten, who had only just signed, and who played only three complete league games out of 30. If our project had been Van Basten, we’d have won nothing.

“We won the European Cup with Ruud Gullit in 1989-90 and you know how many matches he played? One out of nine! We beat Barcelona in the European Super Cup without Franco Baresi, Carlo Ancelotti and Gullit.

“Music without a score is not possible. [Playwright] Bertolt Brecht said that even the greatest actors need a director to express themselves fully. 

“With what they spend, the day that the Parisians have a complete organisation worthy of the club, they will go forward.”