After much fanfare Paris Saint-Germain got their Champions League campaign underway and Mauricio Pochettino was able to unleash his attacking trident of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi, but former England striker Michael Owen isn’t a fan, and in fact feels the French side are weaker with the Barcelona legend.
Messi shocked the footballing world when he departed Barcelona in the summer on a free transfer, eventually joining PSG where he could link up with friend Neymar and wonderkid Mbappe. Many were salivating at the thought of the three playing together, and PSG were almost instantly installed as Champions League favourites.
“As much as we drool over them, this PSG team with those forwards, they’re all phenomenal players in their own right,” Owen said on BT Sport.
“But three together makes it weaker for me and I don’t really understand why they’re one of the favourites for it [the Champions League]. I think the English teams – Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United – are far, far superior.”
While there was some pushback from Rio Ferdinand, Owen went on to say that other players PSG signed in the summer – Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi and Sergio Ramos – are all more important to the Ligue 1 side.
I almost feel as though the signing of the likes of Donnarumma and Sergio Ramos gives them more of a chance of winning [the Champions League],” Owen continued, “than the signing of someone like Messi.”
PSG were held to a 1-1 draw by Belgian side club Brugge on their Champions League debut this season, with Ander Herrera scoring for Pochettino’s men.
