As much as people are trying to push Dembélé into that role, PSG don’t really have a true main man.
They don’t have that one player who contributes at a significantly higher level than everyone else when the pressure is at its highest. They don’t have that superstar who becomes the sole focus of every opponent’s game plan.
Not once this season have I watched PSG and felt that Dembélé was carrying the team in that way. What makes them special is that almost everything is shared collectively. The goals, the creativity, the pressing, the defensive work, the contribution is spread across the entire team.
And that’s a great thing for PSG. It’s probably one of the main reasons they’re so difficult to stop.
But fans also need to understand that the best team in the world doesn’t automatically have the best player in the world or the Ballon d’Or winner. Sometimes the strength of a team comes from not relying on one individual at all.
Especially this season, I just don’t think any PSG player has done nearly enough consistently on an individual level to separate himself from the pack and get into the Ballon d'or conversation.
🚨🏆 Pep Guardiola has now won 40 trophies in his coaching career. 4️⃣0️⃣✨
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 Premier League x6
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 Carabao Cup x5
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Club World Cup x4
🏆🏆🏆🏆 UEFA Super Cup x4
🏆🏆🏆 Champions League x3
🏆🏆🏆 La Liga x3
🏆🏆🏆 Bundesliga x3
🏆🏆🏆 Spanish Super Cup x3
🏆🏆🏆 Community Shield x3
🏆🏆 Copa del Rey x2
🏆🏆 DFB Pokal x2
🏆🏆 FA Cup x2
Raphinha’s ball striking is a complete joke.
How he generated that much power with practically no back-left defies all comprehension. It’s beyond bonkers.
I wish it had been at Barça, but watching Busquets and Alba finish their journeys lifting a trophy with Messi and Suárez, led by Mascherano, feels like football bringing everything full circle.
Messi will grab the headlines, rightly so, but this is the real storyline imo.