What now for Leo Messi and Mbappe after another PSG European exit?

Paris Saint-Germain's defeat by Bayern Munich in the last 16 of the Champions League has reopened the chest of all the ills of a club that continues to be shipwrecked amidst sporting failures. The Qatari megaproject is once again bidding farewell to its long-awaited dream in the hardest possible way.

With the league the only asset in sight with more than two months to go until the end of the season, PSG have all the ghosts hanging over their heads. With no real objectives now at stake -- the league is more of an obligation than anything else -- all the uncertainties that had been put aside for the moment are hanging over them. Among them is the future of their big stars, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé. 

Both players have postponed their decisions pending the outcome of the Champions League campaign and many fear the drastic consequences of elimination. Messi may decide at any time, if he has not already done so, not to stay in Paris beyond June, while Mbappé may end his adventure in his native country once and for all in search of a winning project.

Messi's moment to decide

With the big goals of the season already wrapped up, it seems clear that the Argentine's decision will come soon. With no competitive future ahead of him for the remainder of the campaign, Messi faces the moment to make his decision; to continue one more year in Paris, in search of overcoming the round of 16 that he has not achieved in the two years he has been there, or to put an end to his adventure and look for a new destination. 

It is clear that Messi's season was all about the two big events, the World Cup and the Champions League. With the consecration in Qatar with the Argentine national team, which took the weight off his shoulders, and the umpteenth disappointment in the Champions League, the stage seems to be set for him to put an end to his chapter in Paris.

The player and his camp are aware of the club's desire for him to continue for another year, although there are still no proposed conditions. The last meeting between the two parties took place just after the first leg and since then Messi's intentions remain unknown, and he will also wait to find out if there are any changes to the contract and above all in the competitiveness of the team moving forward before making a firm decision.

And Mbappé?

The French star's situation is different to that of Messi. Despite still having a contract until 2024, Mbappé's recent precedents and his decisions about his future suggest that it will be up to the player himself to decide where he will end up playing next year. If the elimination has finally exhausted his patience at the Parc des Princes, the Parisian club would do well to let him go, although he recently hinted that if his decision were based only on the Champions League, he would no longer be in Paris.

Retaining him for another year so that he can leave without leaving a single euro in the club's coffers seems a disastrous option, which is why everything suggests that the decision Mbappé makes in the coming days will be the key to his future and that of the club itself. The demands he can put on the negotiating table will also be key to see how much PSG are willing to pay for his continuity. 

Increasing the team's competitiveness and a major general clean-up will be two of the main points to be addressed, although they will be difficult to carry out. Financial Fair Play is a serious threat to the viability of the project and will make it difficult for any operation to be carried out with a view to improving the current situation.

Ramos & Neymar

Beyond Messi and Mbappé, PSG also have work to do with the rest of the squad. Among them, Neymar and Sergio Ramos. The Brazilian seems to be a never-ending story and although the intentions of the French board are clear, again betting on his departure, the player has not changed his position. He will not leave unless a team matches the multimillion-euro and almost unattainable salary he receives in Paris.

In the case of Ramos, the situation is very different. The club is committed to backing the centre-back, who has emerged as one of the great leaders of the dressing room, even above Mbappé himself. His performances on the pitch are increasingly impressive and the desire to keep him at the club seems to be unanimous.

The 'ghost' of Manchester United

As if that were not enough, PSG have a new spectre on the horizon that could dismantle all their plans for the future. The purchase of Manchester United planned by Qatar could shake the foundations at PSG if their big backer changes the spotlight in search of a winning project that has failed so badly in Paris. 

In Qatar, they are betting strongly on the purchase of the English team, something that could divert much of the attention that is placed on PSG from the high spheres of the country, even more so after the passing of the World Cup, the great 'pearl' of the Qatari landing in Paris more than a decade ago.

Another Champions League exit has reopened the door to all the ghosts that already haunted PSG.

Losing their two big stars at once would be almost fatal for a project that, no matter how much it spends, cannot find a winning formula. Beyond the final loss to Bayern in 2020, they have not come close to a Champions League trophy that would culminate the arrival of Al Khelaifi and company at the helm of PSG, who are now facing one of the most complicated moments in their history.