The 6-1 and the impossible comeback that Sergi Roberto completed for Barça in 2017, Neymar's flight to Paris paying the 222 million of his clause or the short time it took for PSG to welcome Messi when in August 2021 he had to leave Barcelona in tears. The two clubs, antagonistic and facing each other, have plenty of unfinished business. A nouveau riche and one with problems at the cash register. Perhaps the club-state par excellence – PSG has been owned by Qatar since 2011 – and an entity so traditional that it continues to belong to its members.
Parisians and Barcelona fans are so far apart that Naser al Jelaifi had the luxury last summer of spending more than 300 million (Kolo Muani, Gonçalo Ramos, Ugarte, Lucas Hernández, Kang-In Lee, Dembélé, Barcola and Ekitike) while Laporta was barely able to invest 3.5 million in Oriol Romeu. That is to say, PSG, with money to give away, spent 100 times more than a Barça team that counts every euro.
“Barcelona is a historic club, we respect it. We have faced each other a lot in the past, with good and not so good moments,” recalled Marquinhos, the only survivor of the 6-1 defeat along with Kimpembe and Kurzawa. “If we concentrate on our work, I am convinced that we can achieve great things,” said the PSG captain.
Although Leo is in Miami and Ney ended up in Riyadh, Luis Enrique does return home, a culé legend who as a coach left a great flavor, to the point that the board still likes him. Ousmane Dembélé will also be reunited with the man who was his team in the last six seasons. And perhaps the duel will be the first great favor that Kylian Mbappé can do for Madrid.
Paris Saint-Germain is the only second in the group that is in the quarterfinals. It is true that they suffered in a league against Milan, Newcastle and Borussia Dortmund, but Barça knows from their own experience that when Lucho's teams get going, they don't stop. Now they have gone 23 games without losing, more than four months, since November 7 against Milan.
The Parisians dominate Ligue 1 as they want. They are leaders with a 10 point advantage over Brest and can win their tenth domestic league in the last 12 seasons. But their great goal since Qatar landed is the Champions League, where they have never managed to win the crown. They were one step away in 2020 in Lisbon.
Almost seven years have passed since Luis Enrique left. May 27, 2017 was the last time Lucho sat on the Barcelona bench. It was in a Copa del Rey final against Alavés that his team won 3-1. Of the current players on Xavi's squad, only Ter Stegen and Sergi Roberto remain who were under the orders of Luis Enrique, in addition to the Terrassa coach himself.
Mbappé, who is expected to experience the classics in the white shirt starting next season, will be the big threat. In the 2021 round of 16 tie, the last meeting between the two, the French star scored four of the Parisians' five goals: three at the Camp Nou and one, from a penalty, in the second leg at the Parc des Princes. Of their six visits, Barça has only won in Paris in 2015 (1-3).
The speed, power and intimidation of the forward will be a high test for Cubarsí and Araújo. Mbappé, who wants to say goodbye in style after announcing that he will not renew in June, can also get the Madrid fans to forgive him for his first sit-in if he removes Barça from Europe. The forward has 35 goals (three of them against Real Sociedad in the round of 16) in 36 games this season.
Dembélé, who played (and well) as a false nine in San Sebastián, but who only has one goal in 32 games, and Luis Enrique are not the only ones who will return, as Arnau Tenas signed after being released in the summer. Other old acquaintances are Carlos Soler, Fabián Ruiz and the former Real Madrid player Marco Asensio, who also arrived for free.
Despite its large investment, PSG may have problems in defense. Center back Skriniar is injured and right back Achraf misses the first leg due to suspension. Luis Enrique can delay Zaïre-Emery, an 18-year-old youth player, to the lane. PSG not only wants to sign, but also train, although it does not lack cash.
