A retrospective grade of the 2021 PSG transfer window
The 2021 Paris Saint-Germain transfer window was arguably the most hyped in football history.
They made their first Champions League final in 2020 but fell short to Bayern. The following campaign was a major disappointment.
They lost relatively uncompetitively to Manchester City in the Champions League semi-finals, and were even unable to win Ligue 1 as Lille took the crown from them.
They completely overhauled the squad that was unable to achieve the levels they wanted the season before, bringing in six new players who all started Champions League games at some point that season.
They brought in both young and older talents, hoping that this would be the window that finally brought them European glory.
They also happened to sign a guy named Lionel Messi.
Four years later, it was. While not every player worked out in Paris, they do not win the Champions League in 2024 without many of the faces brought in that summer.
Here, I will grade all six signings they made in that famous summer, determining if that window really lived up to the hype. I will likely continue this series with different summer windows and, in those future articles, talk about the sales as well, but in 2021, the only sale was Mitchel Bakker for 7 million, so there was not very much to discuss.
Georginio Wijnaldum
Grade: D+
The worst of the signings that summer was Georginio Wijnaldum. He never fit in very well at PSG, only starting 21 games throughout his time in the French capital.
There are two saving graces to this move, however. The first being that it was a free transfer. He was brought in for nothing and sold for 8 million in 2023 to Al-Ettifaq after a loan to Roma in 2022, but it was still a financial loss, as his salary was reported to be around 14 million.
The other was his outstanding performance in the UCL group stage against RB Leipzig. PSG drew that match 2-2, but the Dutch midfielder was the one who scored both goals.
Had they lost that match 2-0, they still would have qualified for the knockouts by just one point over the German club, but it certainly allowed them to sleep easier going into matchday six, that they didn’t have to worry about qualification.
Sergio Ramos
Grade: C
Ramos was another free veteran signing that PSG made, this time with him coming from Real Madrid.
He had a difficult first season in Paris, only appearing in 13 games due to dealing with injuries.
However, his second season was quite decent. His highlight of his time at PSG came in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Bayern Munich, where he and Nuno Mendes were by far the two best players on the pitch for PSG.
Ramos was a solid player on the pitch, but the issue with this transfer comes in the financials. The Spanish defender earned 14 million per season in his time at PSG, a very high number for a backup defender.
His deal also does not have the solace of at least getting a fee back like Wijnaldum’s did, as he left for Sevilla on a free transfer after his contract ended in 2023, despite reports that he was willing to cut his salary in half to stay at PSG.
Gianluigi Donnarumma
Grade: A
When he left AC Milan, Donnarumma was supposed to be the next big thing in goalkeeping. It took some time, but by today, he has finally become the keeper he was supposed to be.
I will preface by saying I am lower on Donnarumma than most PSG fans are, so some might think that this grade is harsh. However, for all of the good he has done, there has been corresponding bad. It is also somewhat meaningful that he was signed on a free transfer, so that helps his grade.
His highs are very high. His incredible performances at Anfield and in the second legs against Aston Villa and Arsenal are a massive reason why PSG are Champions of Europe right now. I also would have said that he is the best goalkeeper in the world in the 2023/24 season.
His lows are also very low, and that is what holds this grade down from an A+. No matter what you think about the silent whistle on the potential Benzema foul at the Bernabeu in 2022, it cannot be argued that he didn’t cost PSG a chance at moving on and winning their first Champions League that season. He was also not very good in 2023 or in the first half of the 2025 season.
All in all, he is a major reason that PSG has finally become Champions of Europe, so despite his shortcomings in the past, Donnarumma receives an A. With his departure seeming imminent, he leaves PSG with a great legacy.
Nuno Mendes and Achraf Hakimi
Grades: A+
PSG signed a pair of young fullbacks that summer, and both of those transfers have worked out like a dream.
They are quite easily the two best fullbacks in the world right now. Both of them will find themselves on the Ballon d’Or list on August 7, and will find themselves very high up on that list on September 22.
Hakimi was brought in from Inter Milan for a staggering total of 71 million Euros, making him the most expensive fullback ever. While there were some growing pains, especially the 2023 season, where he was not as effective as people were expecting, the only fullback that is on his level right now is his pairing on the left. His 28 goals and assists blow past every other fullback. In the Champions League, his 9 G/A ranks 8th among all players, while the next closest defender is Mendes at 40th.
Hakimi is the only player on Earth capable of playing the role that Luis Enrique wants from his right back, and he is an incredible player for PSG.
While Hakimi might get more attention due to a more offensive-oriented role, Mendes might even be better.
He signed a loan with a 38 million Euro option to buy from Sporting CP, and that option was an incredibly easy one for PSG to pick up. He struggled with injuries early in his time in Paris, but since returning from a major muscle injury that kept him out from May 2023 to February 2024, he has looked like an entirely new player while also being able to stay on the pitch. He has locked down any winger you throw at him this season, and as mentioned earlier, is also very effective going forward.
Mendes is currently only 23 years old, and Hakimi is only 26, and both signed new contracts until 2029 earlier this year. PSG is sure to have the best fullback pairing on Earth for a very long time.
Lionel Messi
Grade: B-
Finally, Lionel Messi. This was the transfer that broke the football world, but was it worth it for PSG?
In my opinion, not really.
Messi was brought in to bring the Champions League to Paris, and he failed. There is no denying that, and I think that takes him out of the A range immediately.
Those Champions League failures also fall heavily on his shoulders. If he had made his penalty against Real Madrid, PSG would have knocked out the eventual champions, and he was entirely ineffective the next season against Bayern Munich in the knockouts.
He played well in Ligue 1, especially in 2023. I am not sure if PSG wins the league without him, so that certainly helps him out here.
However, is playing well in Ligue 1 really enough to justify a 41 million Euro salary and disrupting what was a great connection between Neymar and Mbappe?
I don’t think so.
Sure, he did help bring unbelievable amounts of revenue to the club that eventually helped fund their massive 2023 window, but it’s not like PSG is a club that is strapped for cash anyway.
Furthermore, between the debacle with skipping training to go visit Saudi Arabia and the alleged conversation where he told Vitinha “not only are you bad, but you’re also hurting me”, it was just not a good fit in the Parisian dressing room. His exit was also very messy, and it created unnecessary tension around the club, going into what was already going to be a difficult summer.
Did Lionel Messi deliver some good performances in his time in Paris? Absolutely. Does that mean it was worth everything that came alongside it? I’m not sure.
