(Reuters) - Barcelona's first European Cup winning side in 1992 was nicknamed the 'Dream Team' yet no club deserves that moniker more now than Paris St Germain, who are poised to add Lionel Messi to their already star-studded squad.
Messi, who gave a tear-soaked farewell press conference with Barcelona, is about to form a world-beating front three with former strike partner Neymar and France forward Kylian Mbappe.
Basing a team around three ferociously talented forwards eventually came at a cost to Barca's overall balance and they soon found themselves unable to compete with the game's top sides in crunch Champions League games. Stark warning signs were there, such as a 3-0 defeat to AS Roma in a 2018 quarter-final second leg and an even more crushing 4-0 loss to Liverpool the following season to lose a semi-final tie 4-3 on aggregate.
The financial warning signs may also be there for PSG, who this summer signed Sergio Ramos, Georginio Wijnaldum and Gianluigi Donnarumma, all on free transfers yet all on huge salaries, in addition to splashing 60 million euros on Achraf Hakimi.For now at least, PSG's financial might may be unchecked but Messi's arrival brings no guarantees they will win the Champions League title their owners crave.
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