PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi 'took his anger out on a door' after Champions League elimination by Manchester United
The Paris club was stunned by the late penalty that cost them a place in the final eight of Europe's elite club competition
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Your support makes all the difference.There were several images that betrayed how stunned Paris Saint-Germain were as Manchester United's incredulous young stars sprinted and slid around the Parc des Princes turf.
Neymar standing mouth agog on the sideline, utterly floored by watching his Champions League dream fall apart, was probably the one that went around the world fastest. But there was also a downhearted Kylian Mbappe (below) being given a consolatory pat on the head by Marcus Rashford. There was Thomas Tuchel looking like he's just found out his father was a spy. There was Gianluigi Buffon with the face of a formerly world-class goalkeeper whose errors have just cost his club a tilt at the biggest trophy in club football.
All these images fed into the shock of the moment, but what later transpired behind closed doors appeared to be the anger as the feeling that the meaningful part of their season was over for another year sunk in.
PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi, usually known as a calm and collected operator, "vented his anger on a door" in the bowels of PSG's stadium, according to RMC.
"Mad with rage about the refereeing," they claim, "al-Khelaifi let his anger explode against a door. A very rare sight that said a lot about the frustration generated by this penalty inside the club."
No kidding.
What the PSG president does now is anybody's guess, but the smart money is on him retaining Thomas Tuchel despite this latest continental disappointment. L'Equipe said Nasser needed time to 'cool down' before making that decision though.
It is no secret that the club's ultimate ambition is to make a splash in the Champions League . Some clubs can spin elimination from the European Cup as a plus as it allows them to focus on a domestic title race, but Ligue 1 has been done and dusted for a while for the Parisians. It is most years too, which is why making strides on the continent means so much to Al-Khelaifi and those who have invested extraordinary sums to make PSG into a superclub.
They've arguably achieved that by most measures, indeed their branching out into the world of sports fashion via collaborations with Nike's Air Jordan brand as well as their increasing global fanbase and superstar players mean they tick almost every box. The only one missing is a Champions League trophy, but that is proving much harder to find than they ever thought.
It is why there was such shock and anger when PSG were eliminated in devastatingly cruel fashion. It is also why there appears to be a door at the Parc des Princes in need of some repair work today.
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