09 March 2023 , 08:37
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Former Bayern Munich star Owen Hargreaves has torn into Paris Saint-Germain following their Champions League exit by claiming they need to ‘rip their project up’.
The club’s Qatari owners have long made their aspirations of lifting a European title in the French capital clear but as of yet their efforts have not borne fruit. They have only managed to reach one final where they were beaten by Bayern Munich.
The French giants also saw their latest campaign ended by the Bundesliga titans on Wednesday evening with a 3-0 aggregate defeat. Former PSG forward Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting opened the scoring in the second-half in Bavaria before Serge Gnabry rounded off proceedings late on.
In giving his assessment of their defeat, Hargreaves has laid blame at the club’s strategy of signing glittering individuals and urged a change of direction. Speaking on BT Sport, the ex-Manchester United midfielder said: "PSG have so many brilliant individuals. It’s not a team. It’s a shame. They’ve put so many fabulous players together but if anything they’re going backwards.
“Bayern prides itself on having some of the best German players at its football club: Muller, Musiala, Kimmich. PSG should rip their whole project up and start from scratch.
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“They have the best young talent pool in all the world in Paris, Fofana, Nkunku, Dembele, all these guys should play for PSG, why are they going to wherever it is? They could win Ligue 1 with those young French players and you sprinkle in one or two superstars to help the young guys, but they've got to rip that project up. They barely have any young French kids in their team, it's ridiculous.”
Kylian Mbappe has given his thoughts on PSG's Champions League exit (Getty Images)What do you think went wrong for PSG vs Bayern Munich? Share your thoughts in the comments below
One of the stars of the PSG team Kylian Mbappe - the scorer of 30 goals in all competitions this season - could do nothing to stop his side from dropping out of Europe and had a worryingly similar assessment of the difference between the two sides at the Allianz Arena.
“Not much [difference] when you look at the state of both teams,” Mbappe said. “They [Bayern] have a great team, they have a great squad, they have a team that is built to win the Champions League.
“As I said at the beginning of the season, in my first Champions League press conference that we were going to do our maximum. Our maximum, that’s it, that’s the truth.
“We’re going to challenge ourselves and go back to our daily routine, which is the championship.”
PSG remain in prime position to add another league title to their collection under Christophe Galtier. They sit eight points clear at the top of the Ligue 1 standings and face struggling Brest this weekend.
Galtier's side also failed to win the Coupe de France this term after being eliminated by Marseille in the round of 16 last month.