Another season of disappointment for PSG in the Champions League was confirmed on Wednesday night, with Real Madrid completing an astonishing comeback against the French side at the Bernabeu.
The Parisians will be scratching their heads as to how they have faltered in Europe once more - but they cannot blame a lack of investment.
Paris Saint Germain's spending has not correlated with Champions League success
PSG's transfer bills in recent years have been among the very highest in Europe. The combined fees they forked out for Neymar and Kylian Mbappé add up to more money than the GDP of several countries in the world.
If we go even further back to the start of the 2010s, PSG's transfer strategies saw them bring in big names such as Edinson Cavani and Angel di Maria for massive fees. Four of the top 50 most expensive transfer fees of all time have come from PSG since the takeover by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011.
Last summer saw something of a change in strategy, with four of their summer signings coming in on free transfers - Georginio Wijnaldum, Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma, and Lionel Messi. Their massive financial power, however, allows them to pay their players ludicrous wages, with Salary Sport estimating that they spend approximately €260 million per year on player wages.
When the Qatari investment arrived, PSG became regular participants in the Champions League, and it took them no time at all to assert their dominance over Ligue 1. Eight domestic titles have followed in the ten seasons since the arrival of Qatar in Paris.
But an incredible graphic from TransferMarkt has shown just how disappointing the club's performances have been in the Champions League over the last decade.
Despite spending an incredible €1.3 billion on transfer fees since Qatari investment began to be pumped into the club in 2011, PSG have failed to win a Champions League title. They have only reached the final once, and have only one semi-final appearance to their name.
Perhaps what will be most disappointing for PSG is how self-inflicted many of those early exits have been. Against Chelsea in 2014, Barcelona in 2017, Manchester United in 2019, and Real Madrid in 2022, they held a two-goal lead at some point in the tie and still went crashing out.
Just look at the illustrious list of names that have passed through the Parc des Princes in the past ten years, and it becomes even harder to comprehend. This side alone began Wednesday's defeat at the Bernabeu with a front three of Mbappé - Neymar - Messi, riches that no other team in the world could dream of.
PSG are not the only team who have struggled to convert their riches into European success since the outset of the 2010s.
Manchester City have spent similarly eye-watering amounts of money since being taken over by the Abu Dhabi Group in 2008. Manchester United have spent substantial amounts year in year out as they chase a return to the form of Sir Alex Ferguson's time in charge.
But nothing compares to the horrifyingly high transfer fees paid by PSG in the years since Qatar arrived. The €222 million for Neymar and €180 million for Mbappé in successive summers in 2017 and 2018 remain the two highest transfer fees of all time, and by some distance.
Less than 15 years ago, when Real Madrid paid €94 million for Cristiano Ronaldo, it was an astonishing amount of money to throw at a player. Nowadays, that would barely raise an eyebrow at PSG.
And yet, the Parisians continue to stumble and falter in the Champions League. All of the riches in the world have failed to bring home the biggest prize for PSG and, with Carlo Ancelotti, Unai Emery, Thomas Tuchel, and now Mauricio Pochettino all struggling to bring home "big ears", it's hard to see how their European struggles will come to an end.
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