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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.
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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.
Wealth immunises Rennes, to a degree, but Strasbourg are weaker after losing important players to Chelsea. Emanuel Emegha, the club captain, has been followed out the door by Valentín Barco, with the goalkeeper Mike Penders returning to his parent club after a loan spell at the Meinau. The latter has been replaced by Filip Jörgensen, who will have to play a “crucial role”, in the words of their new manager, Hugo Oliveira, formerly assistant to Marco Silva at Fulham. Time will tell if Jörgensen is up to the task; he was surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge so it may be a move born out of convenience. In any case, he will be busy if pre-season is anything to go by; Strasbourg have conceded 21 goals in their seven friendlies.
The managerial upheaval, from Liam Rosenior to Gary O’Neil, and now to Oliveira, also contributes to a feeling of instability at Strasbourg, one of 10 clubs part of a multi-club model in Ligue 1 this season. That, in itself, adds a feeling of “Who is this even for?” to the upcoming season. Not all clubs in these models are subservient, but nor do their own interests always guide decisions.
Rosenior knows all about that. The new Paris FC manager is one of two coaches returning to France in search of redemption following failed stints in England, with the former Southampton head coach Will Still joining Auxerre. There are also some more adventurous appointments, in the form of Davide Ancelotti at Lille and Filipe Luís at Monaco. There have been an incredible 12 managerial changes in France’s top flight for this season: plenty of change, even if some things will almost certainly stay the same.
This is an article by Get French Football News
