"PSG have replaced Messi, Mbappe and Neymar with the best youngsters in the world"

The countdown is on. Paris Saint-Germain face their second Champions League final in their history on Saturday. After the defeat suffered in 2020 at the hands of Bayern Munich (1-0), the French side will be looking to lift their first UCL in Munich against Inter Milan.

Already immersed in the days leading up to the big match, Javier Pastore, who was once one of the first big signings of the Parisians in their multi-millionaire era and is now an ambassador for the French, analysed the future of PSG this season and the development undergone by the team after a few years in which it came to put together three superstars like Messi, Neymar and Mbappe without reaping any international success.

"PSG has changed a lot of players. They have replaced the best players in the world, those with a lot of name and impact, Messi, Mbappe, Neymar, Verratti, very important players on a footballing level, in the dressing room... with a much younger and more talented team. They have the best young players in the world, along with Barcelona," he said in an interview with 'AS'.

In this regard, Pastore himself recalled his arrival, which began to break a market that blew up in 2017 with the signing of Neymar for 222 million euros. "I was the most expensive signing in Europe that year (55 million). It had a big impact. I didn't give it so much importance, because there was still not so much talk about transfers and money. Years later came Neymar, something unprecedented. We didn't think that a player could have that market price. But watching him play and then having him as a teammate, the price was too small. He broke football, he broke everything, because of the magnitude of his transfer", he said.

Similarly, the Argentine spoke about PSG's great year under Luis Enrique, who has given the team a great personality. A season that, moreover, comes just after losing Mbappe, although Pastore would have preferred the Frenchman to remain in the team.

"Luis Enrique, with a lot of hard work, has turned the criticisms they had into praise. Hats off to him. Success without Kylian? No club coach would want Mbappe to leave for another team. These are decisions that are made at a certain point in his career. Mbappe has equally had an incredible year and without playing in his natural position. He felt it was time for a change of scenery, of club, of country. It was his choice," he said.