WHILE French domestic football talk has been dominated recently by PSG’s acquisition of Lionel Messi, it seems remiss to forget that the big spenders of Ligue 1 didn’t actually win the title last season.
Lille’s highly impressive and very surprising championship success against the odds – their first title for ten years – has been overshadowed by PSG’s traditional summer spending spree.
However, with Lille losing their manager Christophe Galtier, who took charge at Nice, and many of their star players, including Boubakary Soumare, a successful defence of the title looks a long shot, and the champions are trading at around 25/1 (2500) to retain the Ligue 1 crown.
It seems almost certain that PSG will reclaim the championship and make it eight league titles out of the last ten, with the gambling firms confirming that fact by offering very unattractive odds of 1/14 (-1400) on Mauricio Pochettino’s side, according to Betrivers Illinois bonus details.
The priority for Pochettino remains the Champions League, with PSG owners, Qatar Sports Investment, never hiding their ambitions to claim what is seen as the ultimate in club cup competitions, reported 90soccer.com.
The acquisition of Messi clearly has triggered the gambling firms, with PSG installed as short as 11/4 (275) favorites to claim a first Champions League trophy. However, they were many people’s favorites to win it last season, and it may have been a tougher than expected domestic campaign that prevented them from claiming the prize they so desperately crave.
Beaten by Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the semi-finals, they will have been even more irked to see their former manager Thomas Tuchel win the trophy with his new club Chelsea.
Tuchel guided PSG to their only Champions League Final in 2020 when they were beaten by Bayern Munich, with Pochettino determined to go one better than his predecessor.
When speaking about the Champions League, Pochettino has made it clear he knows exactly what the club expects him to deliver.
“We would so like to win this coveted trophy, it is a very big passion,” said Pochettino, who guided Tottenham Hotspur to the final in 2019 only to be beaten by Liverpool. “History is in the past and we are now in a different reality with different players.
“It is an obvious target for PSG to win the Champions League, that is our responsibility and the fans are excited about it as well.” CNN
