Paris Saint-Germain clinch Ligue 1 title but look set for rebuild post-Lionel Messi

Paris Saint-Germain clinched their ninth Ligue 1 title in 11 years on Saturday evening to continue their dominance of French football, but there is a growing sense that major changes are needed and a rebuild is imminent.

A 1-1 draw at Strasbourg was enough for PSG to retain the trophy with one round to spare, despite the late season pressure from second-placed Lens, who defeated Ajaccio 3-0 at home.

"It has not been our best season but it has still been a good one," PSG captain Marquinhos recently said.

It was, in fact, shaping up to be more than just a "good" season when PSG began the campaign in fine form. They were unbeaten in all competitions until the mid-season break for the Qatar World Cup as the famed front three of Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, and Neymar appeared driven to guide PSG to an elusive first Champions League title. In all, PSG lost six games in 2023.

Yet the unravelling that followed was dramatic. After defeat to Lens in their second Ligue 1 match upon returning from the World Cup break, PSG began to stutter, including a Round of 16 defeat to Bayern Munich for another year of Champions League disappointment.

Neymar was again cut down by injury before Messi was suspended for missing training after taking an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia.

Messi scored the goal against Strasbourg, his 496th career league goal in Europe to break Cristiano Ronaldo's scoring record for Europe's top five leagues, but PSG fans have made it clear they want the Argentine superstar to leave. He has even been booed on several occasions by his own supporters.

The mood around the club in recent weeks has appeared sullen, with fans disaffected.

"When we take stock, we need to analyse the first half of the season and what state