Cash in the Capital

For years, Paris Saint-Germain have been a bit-part team. There's been some good years, some bad and some near catastophic. Founded in 1970, making them a fairly young club, they started life in Division Two. Immediate success was their prize and they were celebrating their first birthday with a place in the French top flight. The club then split, and PSG was formed as an amateur club in Division Three. They won consecutive promotions and by the 73/74 season, they were once again, in Division One. They waited over a decade for their first league title in 1986, but then endured a stop-start few years as their next league crown came in 1994. Since then, they have not won the Ligue 1 competitin again and, despite numerous Cup successes, they now have a hunger greater than ever before to make their way back to the top.
The last 10 years have brought hard times. They have often found themselves in trouble and were nearly relegated in the 2006/07 season, eventually finishing 15th. Fluctuating levels of performance and a squad quality that went up and down like a yoyo have contributed to give little for the fans to shout about.

However, 2011 brought a new opportunity. A foreign tide arrived in Paris as the Qatar Investment Authority bought a 30% share in the club, effectively making them the majority stakeholders. With an estimated asset pool of $60billion, it was easy to see what could happen here. Their pledge was simple...
To build a club that would dominate domestically, and win the UEFA Champions League.
Numbers started to be thrown around like it was child's pay. Parting with large sums of cash seemed like a drop in the ocean for these hard hitting Qataris.
During the 2011/12 season, the Paris outfit were transformed as the Qatari owners acquired what was virtually a whole team. In the Summer transfer window, players arrived from all areas as Javier Pastore, Kevin Gameiro, Jeremy Menez, Mohamed Sissoko, Blaise Matuidi, Milan Bisevac, Salvatore Sirigu and Diego Lugano all came in. Pastore himself cost the new owners a huge 43million Euros, by far a French record. Along with all these playing staff, came a new coach, the widely admired Carlo Ancelotti was appointed as the manager to guide the new team to success.
The January transfer season arrived, and brought with it yet more new faces with Alex, Thiago Motta and Maxwell all being brought in. This huge investment of 108million Euros lead the team to a title challenging season, ultimately being pipped to top spot by the surprise package of Montpellier.
Nevertheless, the close call only served as motivation, and, having qualified for the Champions League qualifying stages, the investment train continued to chug. World class names were mentioned as being linked with PSG; the likes of Pato, Van Persie, Hulk, Suarez and Dani Alves have all been touted. Even an outlandish move for Wayne Rooney was reported by certain tabloids. However, so far, three have been suposedly acquired.
Their first signing of the summer came with Ezequiel Lavezzi making his 30million Euros move, then, was the finishing of the Thiago Silva saga as he completed his transfer from AC Milan for a staggering 42million Euros. Thus making him the most expensive defender ever. In addition to this, the expected transfer of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, also from AC Milan, means they are undoubted to be the biggest spenders this Summer, and they might not be done!
It is surely scary to think for the big clubs of Europe that these investors seem to be willing to pay any money for the players they desire. PSG's team next season could be staggering and packed with not only quality but also young talent.
Here is a possible side for their 2012/13 season:

Sirigu/Areola, Jallet/Maxwell, Sakho/Lugano, T.Silva/Bisevac/Alex, Chantome/Sissoko, Matuidi/Bodmer, Menez, Pastore/Motta, Lavezzi/Nene, Ibrahimovic/Gameiro/Hoarau

As you can see, they have plenty of strength in depth, and their plans to add more to that squad could make it a challenger for European and Domestic honours. Their two young keepers are good enough to play right now and their potential for the future means they could be around for a long time. Watch out for France U19 International Alphonse Areola this season. In defence, they are solid, and the star signing of the world-class Thiago Silva will only aid this, they also bring a big goal scoring threat from the back.
The midfield is the centrepiece of the side, with two more laid back players in Chantome and Matuidi likely to start, they will enable the attacking three of Menez, Pastore and Lavezzi to push forward more often. This will provide a fantastic standard of service for the clinical finishing power of the imperial Ibrahimovic, while still providing some goals themselves.
A prediction for this season is relatively easy. They will be the stand out favourites to win the French title and most likely will. They will be included in the third pot of seeds for the Champions League draw, meaning they could face a group with two European giants. Therefore their chances of qualifying for the next stage may be slim as the team continues to gel together. A place in the Europa League may be the best they can hope for and if so, they could easily challenge for that title.
What is certain is that PSG will be a very popular choice for gamers worldwide in their quest for virtual success.