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Football big spenders under pressure
Football big spenders under pressure

Football big spenders under pressure

The Champions League last 16 gets underway tomorrow with European top clubs Manchester United and PSG squaring off.
NAMPA
One of Europe's traditional financial powerhouses Manchester United meet the nouveau riche Paris Saint-Germain as the Champions League last 16 gets underway tomorrow with both sides hoping to finally reap some reward on the biggest stage from record levels of investment.

Despite splashing hundreds of millions on new players since taking over in 2011, PSG's Qatari owners have not been able to buy success in the competition they crave the most with four successive quarter-final exits between 2013 and 2016 the furthest they have progressed.

Barcelona and Real Madrid have ended the French champions' dreams at this stage in each of the past two seasons.

Once again in the last 16 PSG must face one of the few clubs in the world that can boast greater revenue than they can thanks to United's commercial power and the riches of the Premier League's TV contracts.

But, unlike the two Spanish giants who have used their financial muscle to win seven of the last 10 Champions League titles between them, United have made even less of an impression on the competition than PSG since making three finals in four years between 2008 and 2011.

Both clubs can be accused of being too star-struck in their transfer policy, more focused on big names that reign in lucrative commercial deals than striking the right balance on the field to compete with the best when the margins become fine in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Hitting form and finding fortune at the right time of the season is also key as PSG have found to their cost in the case of the world's most expensive player Neymar.

The Brazilian will miss both legs of the tie against United due to a metatarsal injury in his right foot, the same problem that forced him to miss the second leg of PSG's defeat to Madrid last year.

Should Thomas Tuchel's men not make it past a United rejuvenated under caretaker boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Neymar, the man signed to lead PSG to Champions League glory, will have played one knockout game in two years since his 222-million-euro (US$252 million) move from Barcelona.

Uniting Neymar in a stellar forward line alongside Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani has also left PSG short-handed in other areas due to financial fair play restrictions, particularly in central midfield.

United have made similar mistakes in the six years since Alex Ferguson retired and only now under a former pupil of the Scot in Solskjaer are recovering some of the principles that once made them a dominant force in Europe. Angel di Maria's return to Old Trafford as a PSG player is a reminder of his one underwhelming season for United after joining for a then British record £60 million (US$78 million).

Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez have failed to make a sustained impact despite big-money moves and have fallen behind a homegrown talent in Marcus Rashford in Solskjaer's pecking order.

And even Paul Pogba has only begun to deliver on his £89 million fee in the two months since Solskjaer took charge after a long-running feud with previous boss Jose Mourinho.

However, United and PSG are not alone in funding the arms race to Champions League glory.

Juventus spent 112 million euros on a 33-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo in July to take them one step further after reaching the final in 2015 and 2017, when Ronaldo scored twice in a 4-1 win for Madrid.

Ronaldo returns to the Spanish capital in the last 16, but at Atletico Madrid, who have also stretched their financial resources in the transfer market and increased wages to keep hold of Antoine Griezmann in the hope of winning the competition for the first time in their own stadium come June's final.

Liverpool became Real Madrid's latest victims in the last season's final and face their own blockbuster tie against Bayern Munich.

Real and Barca will be confident of making the last eight for the ninth and 12th consecutive year respectively against Ajax and Lyon.

But it is Premier League champions Manchester City who are the competition favourites thanks to a favourable draw against Schalke as they seek to finally turn domestic success into a first Champions League title.

 -NAMPA/AFP

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Namibian Sun 2024-03-28

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Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 212.55/OZ UP +1.00% | Copper US$ 3.97/lb DOWN -0.0038 | Zinc US$ 2 439.40/T DOWN -0.7% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 87.21/BBP UP +0.95% | Platinum US$ 897.74/OZ UP +0.32% Sport results: Weather: Katima Mulilo: 19° | 37° Rundu: 17° | 33° Eenhana: 18° | 33° Oshakati: 20° | 31° Ruacana: 19° | 33° Tsumeb: 17° | 29° Otjiwarongo: 16° | 28° Omaruru: 18° | 31° Windhoek: 17° | 28° Gobabis: 17° | 28° Henties Bay: 16° | 19° Wind speed: 24km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 10:54, High tide: 04:57, Low Tide: 22:58, High tide: 17:16 Swakopmund: 15° | 17° Wind speed: 29km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 10:52, High tide: 04:55, Low Tide: 22:56, High tide: 17:14 Walvis Bay: 16° | 22° Wind speed: 33km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 10:52, High tide: 04:54, Low Tide: 22:56, High tide: 17:13 Rehoboth: 18° | 29° Mariental: 22° | 32° Keetmanshoop: 21° | 34° Aranos: 21° | 31° Lüderitz: 15° | 29° Ariamsvlei: 23° | 34° Oranjemund: 15° | 21° Luanda: 27° | 30° Gaborone: 20° | 32° Lubumbashi: 17° | 24° Mbabane: 15° | 23° Maseru: 12° | 28° Antananarivo: 16° | 27° Lilongwe: 17° | 29° Maputo: 20° | 28° Windhoek: 17° | 28° Cape Town: 17° | 23° Durban: 21° | 25° Johannesburg: 18° | 28° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 32° Lusaka: 18° | 30° Harare: 15° | 31° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.97 | EUR to NAD 20.51 | CNY to NAD 2.63 | USD to NAD 19.04 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.33 | EGP to NAD 0.39 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.74 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.8 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.23 | USD to DZD 134.13 | USD to AOA 832.63 | USD to BWP 13.71 | USD to EGP 47.3 | USD to KES 130.98 | USD to NGN 1415.13 | USD to ZAR 19.03 | USD to ZMW 24.97 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 73909.5 Up +0.41% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1516.02 Down -0.13% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 12981.98 Up +0.34% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 28224.37 Down -2.87% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 212.55/OZ UP +1.00% | Copper US$ 3.97/lb DOWN -0.0038 | Zinc US$ 2 439.40/T DOWN -0.7% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 87.21/BBP UP +0.95% | Platinum US$ 897.74/OZ UP +0.32%