On the eve of a new Ligue 1 season, many clubs seem a little distracted. Even those accustomed to competing at the top have concerns that transcend the pitch. In a league that contains the greatest team on the continent, the focus of the majority of clubs has shifted to surviving and providing, rather than competing.
Any fighting spirit has long since been kicked out of Paris Saint-Germain’s competitors; back-to-back Champions League titles will do that. It feels like a long time ago since Kylian Mbappé moved to Real Madrid on a free transfer, leaving behind a scent of opportunity that filled the nostrils of Marseille, Monaco and Lille. Roberto De Zerbi was bullish when he joined Marseille. “I’m not here to finish second,” said the manager, who has since moved to Tottenham. Finishing second has now become an aspiration, especially for a club such as Marseille, given their predicament.
Of all of the distracted teams, Marseille are the most preoccupied with off-field matters. While the club avoided a European ban, allowing them to compete in the Europa League this season, Uefa’s tone was one of a final warning: redress the financial imbalance or you’re out.
There has been a change in the dugout, with the (almost boringly) dependable Bruno Génésio coming in for Habib Beye, who replaced De Zerbi in February, but the demands made by Uefa – and the DNCG, French football’s financial watchdog – have prevented the club from making a single signing. There have been plenty of sales (Mason Greenwood, Facundo Medina, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Gérnoimo Rulli have all left on permanent deals), but not enough for Marseille to contemplate dipping into the market themselves.
Marseille’s “everything must go” sale suggested the club were in survival mode and their reaction to Pierre-Emile Højbjerg refusing a move to Newcastle confirmed it. He was stripped of the captaincy for the club’s friendly against Atlético Madrid. Génésio said it was a decision made above his station and one he disagreed with. “I am an employee. I have to agree to certain obligations,” he said.
Génésio wants to keep Højbjerg, but the austerity cure ensures the club are hell-bent on doing the opposite. It is a situation that perfectly encapsulates the conflict between sporting ambition and financial necessity, familiar to many clubs in Ligue 1, and increasingly those competing towards the top of it – lest we forget Lyon’s recent brush with administration.
With the authorities “supervising their wage bill”, Monaco have made savings this summer. Maghnes Akliouche’s £43m move to PSG has been programmed for some time, and Folarin Balogun and Lamine Camara may still bring in big fees before the end of the window. The unexpected sale of Aladji Bamba to Newcastle for £34m has given the club more breathing room in their quest to cut costs and raise funds.
TV broadcasting rights are no longer the lifeblood of Ligue 1. Instead, French clubs rely on the reckless abandon of Premier League sides making multimillion-pound bets on unproven young players. Bamba had played 18 league games when Newcastle came with the big money. Ligue 1 has always been a stopover for its top talents, but the rate of churn has hit new levels. Liverpool did not wait around before signing Jérémy Jacquet and Mamadou Sangaré only needed one campaign at Lens to convince Brentford he was worth an expensive bet.
Even those in stronger financial health cannot resist advances. The prospect of coaching Lens in the Champions League could not prevent Pierre Sage from crossing the Channel to join Crystal Palace. Sangaré made a similar journey, while Adrien Thomasson, Malang Sarr, Allan Saint-Maximin and Wesley Saïd – all instrumental in Lens’ second-place finish and maiden Coupe de France triumph last season – have been lured away. Success can be a poisoned chalice. At least their rebuild, under Dino Toppmöller, looks intelligent. You’d expect nothing less from Lens, but their pillaging once again exposes the limits to success in Ligue 1 for clubs that do not go by the name PSG.
The reigning champions, who are in search of a sixth consecutive league title, have often been accused of being distracted by the Champions League. When you win it two years in a row, you can justify it, but after their close race with Lens last season it isn’t an accusation that can be levelled at them this summer. Their starting XI is already the best in the league and beyond, so PSG’s transfer guru, Luís Campos, has focused on improving the second string that more often than not will be trotted out in Ligue 1.
Ferran Torres, Akliouche and Mika Godts are upgrades on the departing trio of Gonçalo Ramos, Lee Kang-in and Randal Kolo Muani, even if they will struggle to dislodge the current starters in the PSG attack. Lucas Digne is a shrewd pick as back-up to Nuno Mendes, too.
PSG will probably have an easier ride in the league this season as the teams chasing them have either regressed or stagnated. Rennes, who must this season contend with European football for the first time in three seasons, are the only side that finished in the top seven last season that – on paper – look stronger than they were at the start of the summer.