Paul Pogba and PSG: Just what French football needed
On the pitch, or off the pitch. If he’s playing well or playing badly, Paul Pogba will always be a footballing superstar. In his Juventus days, he captured the imagination of almost every young football fan - it was the skill and grace which game with his huge frame, the mesmeric long shots and even the haircuts. He was meant to be the heir to Zidane, and for a while he was.
Paul Pogba was, and still is - a football cultural icon. Yes, it didn’t work out in England (although I think people overblow how bad his stint at United actually was), but I don’t think it subtracted from the fame and global image that the Frenchman had. If anything - it added to it. Whilst at Old Trafford, I don’t think it’s a crazy take to say that Paul Pogba was the most talked about player in the league - during his stay. The media was obsessed with him, the pundits were obsessed with him and so were the fans. As I said before, off the pitch or on the pitch - he will always be a talking point.
And now he’s just signed for Monaco as a free agent. After a move back to Juventus was cut short by a doping scandal, Paul Labile Pogba is back playing football.
Moving from the south of France to the capital, where we don’t have a redemption story - but a story of success. PSG have done what nobody had thought they could, and won the Champions League. But more so, it’s the way they won it. The football they played throughout the competition, and the football they continue to play - is only rivalled by Barcelona in terms of entertainment. The young and tenacious team, rid of all the superstars that plagued them, have so many qualities running through them - that it’s hard to forget that only 12 months ago, no non PSG fans really liked them. Yet now, it seems like they’re the casual fan’s second team and the longer they maintain this level, the more people will become infatuated with them.
The brand of Paris Saint-Germain is about to reach new heights. They’ve now set the standard in European football and cemented themselves as the team to beat. Teams, fans and the media will have no choice but to pay attention to what’s going on at the Parc de Princes because everyone wants to watch the best.
Paul Pogba’s move to Monaco couldn’t have come at a better time. European attention towards Ligue 1 will inevitably increase after the season PSG have had, but now there’s another reason for people to tune in. People want to watch Pogba and they want to watch the best team in the world - and the sponsors know that. Commercial deals and sponsorships will no doubt increase, not only for Monaco and PSG - but for the whole league. There’s now a reason to be interested in Ligue 1.
Everyone might point to superstars like Mbappe, Messi and Neymar all playing in France yet nobody really gave a toss. This time I’d like to think it’s different. PSG constantly let themselves down in Europe, where most people would be watching. And in turn, the interest in them waned quickly. ‘What’s the point in watching them, it’s a farmers league,’ is something along the lines of the response you would get if you asked a football fan if they followed PSG’s domestic campaign, at the time. The names were there, but there was no substance to it. They’d piss the league and then flounder in Europe - a tale as old as time.
Nobody used to like PSG, now everyone loves them - think of that what you will, but it’s the truth. People are actually interested in the players, the tactics and the noise surrounding the club - as I said, they’re now the benchmark. Add a superstar Paul Pogba into this, a redemption story which the football world is impatiently waiting to witness - and you’ve got the recipe for a potential catalyst of a Ligue 1 golden age.
All French clubs need is a little more money. The talent in France is ridiculous and always has been - the problem was that all clubs were too broke to keep them. With the increase in viewership I expect to see in these next few seasons, the money will hopefully trickle down to the mid-table and relegation teams and the league itself may become home to more quality teams.
We already have clubs like Strasbourg, Marseille, Monaco and Lille - all looking to close the gap on the Parisians - but what if Rennes, Lens and Le Havre were given more resources?
Ligue 1 might slowly transform from a development league, to a league which is able to attract some real quality and French club football might begin to catch up to the level of the national team.
PSG and Pogba have started it off, and there’s still a long way to go until the French League is given the same respect as La Liga or the Bundesliga - but every piece in the puzzle is there for it to take off.
I hope in 10 years time - French football has grown tremendously because it would be great for those small clubs just fighting to stay in business, and it goes without saying - that it would be brilliant for the sport in general.
