When it became clear that Kylian Mbappé would not sign a new contract with Paris Saint-Germain and would leave for Real Madrid, most supporters turned their attention to Xavi Simons, who was returning from loan at RB Leipzig and was thought to be PSG’s next superstar. That’s when the drama started.
Toward the end of last season, it was reported that Simons did not want to return to PSG and preferred a loan, a loan with an obligation to buy, or a transfer to another team, and like kingmaker casino with a variety of games, there’s no shortage of teams lining up to sign Simons.
To complicate matters, PSV Eindhoven, the club Simons played for when he left PSG in 2022, would receive a large percentage of the transfer fee if he left before 2025. So, with that stipulation, a loan/loan with the obligation to buy is most likely.
The latest report is that Simons is likely to return to RB Leipzig on just a loan with no obligation to buy as the German club can’t spend the more than €80 million PSG want.
While we wait to see what Simons’s future holds, I can’t help but feel it’s a missed opportunity for the Netherlands international. Simons only made 11 appearances with the PSG first team and apparently, that’s all he needed to decide he never wanted to return. If could have been someone at the club who wronged Simons, or perhaps he doesn’t feel the league is competitive enough for him.
Regardless, Simons could have flourished at PSG. With Mbappé leaving, he would have been the most recognizable players at one of the biggest clubs in the world. He was outstanding with the Netherlands at the UEFA European Championship this summer, and he could have brought that momentum to PSG and teamed up with Vitinha, Bradley Barcola, Warren Zaïre-Emery, and Ousmane Dembélé to form a really talented young team.
Simons had an opportunity to lead PSG to a UEFA Champions League, something not even Mbappé, Neymar Jr., and Lionel Messi could do. Not only that, but he could have demanded a sizeable wage package and in terms of marketing, there’s no club that does it like PSG.
Instead, Simons is risking all that by going on loan to Leipzig again. If he flops this season, or even worse, sustains a significant injury, his options next summer could dwindle. For PSG, it’s a gamble as well. They need Simons to continue developing in order to command a large transfer fee next summer.
Ultimately, Simons will be great, but it won’t be for PSG. All they can do is identify what went wrong and correct those mistakes for the future.
