The first summer when PSG spent 90 million euros: they took Pastore, Matuidi, Lugano and 6 other players

In the summer of 2011, PSG disturbed the calm: the club came under the control of the Qatari sheikhs and immediately established dominance in the transfer market. In the first summer campaign, new tops spent 90 million euros. For the previous three windows, 36 million were spent, and most of all they spent before in the 2000/01 season. We remember everyone thanks to whom PSG started the construction of an ambitious project.

Nicolas Soul

A reliable goalkeeper shot in the 2010/11 season and helped Rennes jump into fifth place in the championship. The 30-year-old goalkeeper was ending his contract and he was ripe for a new challenge. PSG agreed in advance with Duce, which was preparing for parting with Gregory Coupe and Adel Alupa. The sheikhs confused Nicolas with all his plans, because the previous leadership promised him the status of the first number. Leonardo was appointed sports director of PSG, and the Brazilian put on Salvatore Sirigu. Soul was injured at the start of his Parisian career and resigned himself to the role of a reservist. Sirigu played in the championship, Nicolas – in domestic cups and the Europa League. This is not what he was counting on with the transfer, but later, Duche still got high from PSG. He became an important part of the team and the suppressor of Zlatan. The Frenchman was a neighbor of Ibrahimovic in the locker room, became friends with him and reassured him when the Swede raised his voice to his partners. “In the beginning it was difficult because I didn’t defend my place at the base due to an injury. He did not make a fuss, because he was always a team player. Moreover, I understood that I was participating in something extraordinary. Therefore, when in 2013 I was faced with the choice of leaving or staying, I stayed. I decided that I would rather play 10-15 games in an outstanding team than 40 in a regular one, ”Duchet recalled. The goalkeeper noted that training with Beckham, Zlatan and other stars markedly increased his level and concentration: “If such top players stay after training and do something extra, who am I not to do the same?” In the summer of 2015, Kevin Trapp moved to Paris, but Soul still stayed. He liked the attitude and respect of the coaching staff. Nicolas left the club only in 2016, when Alfonso Areola returned from loan. Soul went to Lance as a free agent, played there for two years and finished in 2019 at the Red Star club. After retiring, Duche worked as a TV pundit and trained as a coach. In June 2022, he returned to Le Havre as a goalkeeping coach.

Diego Lugano

Fenerbahce miraculously kept the defender after a successful 2010 World Cup for Uruguay, but Lugano left the following season. Arsenal and Juventus claimed him, but PSG turned out to be the most efficient. The French spent 3 million euros and, it seems, just bought everyone in a row – in the winter, five central defenders gathered in the team.  Lugano competed with Alex (arrived in winter), Mamadou Sako, Milan Biševac and Zumana Camara. Under Antoine Comboire, the Uruguayan started as the main player, but then dropped out of the start – the situation did not change under Carlo Ancelotti. The position of the semi-finalist of the World Cup was aggravated by a misunderstanding with the coach and Leonardo. They did not communicate with the defender and did not explain. “The period in Paris was strange. Especially in psychological terms – there were times when I suffered a lot. I always respected the decision of the coach, because it is also a way to respect teammates. Too bad the club didn’t tell me they weren’t counting on me. I lost almost six months. In the end, I lost my patience, ”Lugano described his time at PSG.