PSG is the 'non-English hope,' but it's still all about the Euros | Opinion
PSG is the 'non-English hope,' but it's still all about the Euros | Opinion
Jon Arnold, USA TODAYSat, May 30, 2026 at 9:28 PM UTC
0
Continental championships are about one club vs. another, but there is so much more in the background. That's why Paris-Saint Germain's victory over Arsenal on penalties in the final of the UEFA Champions League wasn't just PSG vs. Arsenal — it was The Continent vs. England, the People vs. the Premier League.
Maybe that's not right. After all, people love the Premier League. That's why its U.S. TV deal alone is reportedly worth $2.7 billion over six years, or $450 million annually. That's many times more than Ligue 1 teams were able to recoup in France, where a series of negotiation failures meant the clubs launched their own streaming service.
It's why Premier League teams, especially those that generally finish in the middle of the table, are able to win almost any bidding war for a player with a club of the same level in Spain, France or Italy. It shows when those types of teams meet in the Europa League and the Conference League.
Aston Villa rolled to the Europa League title, earning a return to the Champions League in Premier League play, and beat Freiburg 3-0 in the Europa League final. It did it with a number of reserves who would be stars for mid-table teams in the rest of Europe.
In this year's Conference League final, Crystal Palace beat a Rayo Vallecano team in the final that couldn't manage to play at its intimate home stadium because of flooding at the venue, a stadium where most tickets still have to be purchased in-person because the club hasn't invested in the online infrastructure. It is the second time in a row a Premier League team won the young tournament and the third time of five it has been contested. Brighton & Hove Albion now enter the 2026-27 edition as favorites.
More: Arsenal wins Premier League title after Man City stumbles at Bournemouth
England's continental dominance is replicated worldwide
Those types of successes are good for the product of English soccer, but not for the idea of continental competition. Yet, it's a scene that repeats all around the world.
Brazilian clubs have won the last seven editions of the Copa Libertadores. Mexican teams have won all but one Concacaf Champions Cup since the format was modernized in 2008-09. And the cash infusion into Saudi soccer has seen back-to-back titles from Al-Ahli, with four of the last seven AFC Champions League Elite winners coming from Saudi Arabia.
Why? The money.
Advertisement
You don't have to be a sports expert or an economist to see that teams with big-spending owners can, indeed, find the best players and recruit them to play for their side. If things don't blow up on the field? They win a trophy, making their brand all the more powerful. According to numbers crunched by Spanish newspaper Marca, Premier League clubs spent more than €3.5 billion (around $4 billion) to bring in players during the summer of 2025, dwarfing second-place Serie A's €1.1 billion spend and making France's €636 million look absolutely thrifty.
No one would ever accuse PSG of being Robin Hood. The team's president, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, is also a Qatari government official, with the club wearing the Qatar Airways name on their chest and serving as an advertisement for what Qatar hopes to convince the world it can be.
The prize money for winning consecutive Champions Leagues, plus the financial boost from making the final of last year's Club World Cup will help paper over any cracks the Ligue 1 TV deal exposed in PSG's financial foundation. But the government support means this is a team that always can bring in new recruits and sign the best of the best, snapping up top French talents like Bradley Barcola, Désiré Doué and even former star Kylian Mbappe from other Ligue 1 teams even as they work to develop top Parisian talent.
PSG's likable leader lends a soft face to the squad
Yet, despite all that neutrals have an easy reason to root for PSG - and not just because they break up the British monopoly on European titles.
Luis Enrique, the former Spain manager, is a likable figure off the field who also manages to play some of the most pleasing soccer in the world. As Enrique's tenure goes on, his influence at the club only grows, with players who fit his system arriving.
Even when he has needed to play players slightly out of position, they have been able to rise to the occasion, whether it be Vitinha turning into a holding player, Warren Zaïre-Emery covering at right back or even trusting Matvey Safonov in goal.
As nice as his teams are to watch, however, it's hardly an underdog story. PSG will continue to invest and spend big because it can, whether it's to suit Enrique's whims, grow its commercial project or just to keep up with the other big boys.
The eyes of the soccer world now turn to the World Cup for the next two months, but in August when it's time to think about UEFA Champions League favorites, there will be only two legitimate categories of candidates: PSG and the big-spending Premier League clubs who are able to turn their global popularity into European dominance.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: PSG denies Premier League a European sweep, but may show money is everything | Opinion
Source: “AOL Sports”
