When Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) assembled the trio of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi in August 2021, they seemed closer than ever to taking the throne in Europe.

It cost PSG, 222 million euros (about $243.8 million) to acquire Neymar in 2017 and 180 million euros (about $197.7 million) to land Mbappe in 2018. Messi joined in 2021 as a free agent, but not for free.

The three seem to be leaving the Parc des Princes in reverse of that order. Messi already departed for Miami Inter, again as a free agent. It's only a matter of time for Mbappe to join another club after his fallout with the management. Now, according to French newspaper L'Equipe, Neymar wants out of PSG as well.

What exactly has PSG achieved with the hundreds of millions they spent on the three in the past two years? What will they lose if they are all gone this summer?

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Josh McNally

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2023-08-08/CGTN-Sports-Talk-After-Messi-and-Mbappe-Neymar-wants-to-leave-PSG-too-1m6p4ZpSJiM/index.html

Portuguese star midfielder Bernardo Silva of Manchester City is close to joining the Saudi Pro League, according to Marca.

Multiple notable players have joined the Saudi league in the past six months, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante. The Middle Eastern clubs with deep pockets even targeted Lionel Messi and Luka Modric, who turned the juicy offers down in the end.

UEFA President Alexander Ceferin said last week that he is not worried about the massive poaching moves by the Saudi league because no top player in their prime has joined a Saudi club.

Silva, who has been playing as a key midfield attacker for multiple years, may be the first exception. The question is, will there be more following his path?

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Josh McNally

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2023-06-23/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Should-UEFA-worry-about-Saudi-poaching--1kS3YKxeMIU/index.html

Nikola Jokic just became the first second-round draftee to win the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) after leading the Denver Nuggets to defeat the Miami Heat 4-1 in the series at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, on Monday.

Jokic failed to win the regular season MVP three times in a row and was passed over for the All-NBA First team this season, but he made history for his team by taking them to the NBA Finals for the first time and winning for the first time.

By contrast, Joel Embiid won the regular season MVP award but failed to take his Philadelphia 76ers further than the Eastern Conference semifinals. He has experienced that pain five times in the six playoff trips of his career so far.

Jokic and Embiid are two of the best centers in today's league, but if there used to be any doubt about who is better, there isn't any now because Jokic has shown himself to be a more valuable player than Embiid.

Host: Li Xiang

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2023-06-13/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Who-is-the-NBA-MVP-now--1kBzyJg7J4I/index.html

In a not very convincing 1-0 victory over Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League final at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Türkiye, Manchester City took the throne of European club football competitions.

Man City's manager Pep Guardiola won his first Champions League trophy without Barcelona or Lionel Messi, setting a major milestone in his career. Erling Haaland stood next to him. Though the Norwegian superstar didn't score any goal in the game, the club wouldn't have done it without him distracting most of the opponents' defensive attention.

Inter Milan, which were seen as the underdog from the group stage of the Champions League this season, gave Man City a real hard time on Saturday night. Their manager Simone Inzaghi and most of their players should have nothing to regret.

Unfortunately, Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku are the two exceptions. They wasted too many opportunities that could have led to an epic upsetting win for Inter. Lukaku has probably made his last appearance for the club.

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Josh McNally

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2023-06-11/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Winners-and-losers-in-UEFA-Champions-League-final-1kyfh6G8ENy/index.html

Manchester City, which have won their third Premier League title in a row and are preparing for the UEFA Champions League final, are looking at a great opportunity to create their own era.

Barcelona, which clinched the La Liga championship trophy four games early, have not only a mount of debt, but also Real Madrid, who are ready to build the new Galacticos, to worry about.

Napoli won their first Serie A title in 33 years, but are not sure how many of their players will still be with the team next season. Meanwhile, which of the three traditional powerhouses, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus, will find their old glories back sooner than the other two?

Paris Saint-Germain again finished their season with the Ligue 1 trophy and their disappointing performance in the Champions League. The team's flaws have been there as always, just like they never found a solution.

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Josh McNally

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2023-06-02/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Some-UEFA-top-leagues-face-a-new-era-some-don-t-1kjnvCul7BS/index.html

Jamal Musiala's goal for Bayern Munich in the 89th minute against Cologne at RheinEnergieStadion on Saturday saved the 2022-23 season for the club because at least they finished with one trophy.

But, just how happy will Bayern and their fans be at the Bundesliga title after winning it 11 times in row, especially after they were eliminated from both the UEFA Champions League and the DFB-Pokal?

Whatever target CEO Oliver Kahn and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic had when they decided to replace Julian Nagelsmann with Thomas Tuchel in the manager position in the middle of the season, they failed to achieve it. Now both Bayern legends paid the price by losing their jobs.

Bayern are likely to offer full support to Tuchel this summer on transfers to build a competitive team. After that, he may have no excuse for not leading the club back to their former heights.

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Josh McNally

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2023-05-28/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Are-Bayern-Munich-satisfied-with-the-2022-23-season--1kaZyaehKhi/index.html

Manchester City and Inter Milan will play each other in this season's UEFA Champions League final at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Türkiye, on June 10.

Having been seeking a Champions League title for over a decade, Man City now have their second chance in three years. They have already beaten Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, two traditional European powerhouses that have left the English giants some really unpleasant memories before. Pep Guardiola and his players have to reason to repeat the failure this time.

The last time Inter appeared in the Champions League final was in 2010 and they won their third title of the tournament in franchise history by defeating the bigger favorites Bayern. The Italian heavyweights are no stranger to playing as underdogs.

Between the two team's managers, Pep Guardiola and Simone Inzaghi, Man City's boss apparently can't afford to lose after all those years of investment and trust from his club.

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Josh McNally

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2023-05-19/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Do-Inter-have-a-chance-in-the-UEFA-Champions-League-final--1jW5QWdyFyw/index.html

If you ask the Milwaukee Bucks or the Phoenix Suns, they will probably say it's the 76ers' head coach Doc Rivers since the two teams just fired their coaches after playoffs exit.

Many blame James Harden for not doing enough even after he carried the 76ers to two key victories like a lone hero who scored 45 and 42 points in those competitions.

Joel Embiid, who beat Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets in this season's NBA Most Valuable Player race, played nothing like himself against the Celtics, or, perhaps too much like himself?

When a team's best player underperforms like Embiid does, of course they lose to competitive opponents like the Celtics.

Host: Li Xiang

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2023-05-16/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Who-do-you-blame-for-76ers-playoff-elimination--1jRaDpBn2Mw/index.html

Three teams have advanced to the NBA Conference Finals. The Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets will face each other in the West while the Heat wait to see who they will play in the East.

LeBron James won his second series against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors in their fifth meeting, though not in the NBA Finals this time.

Nikola Jokic didn't win the NBA Most Valuable Player award for the third time in a row, but he is leading the Denver Nuggets over the Phoenix Suns and on the way to something bigger.

The Heat count on the toughness of Jimmy Butler during clutch time. Meanwhile, the rest of the team are resilient enough to eliminate the New York Knicks and reach the East Finals for the third time in four years.

Host: Li Xiang

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2023-05-13/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Nuggets-Heat-Lakers-advance-to-Conference-Finals-1jMgDaU54NW/index.html

The last time Stephen Curry played LeBron James in the NBA postseason was in 2018 during the Finals. That was their fourth straight meeting since 2015. Now the two will face each other again, only this time, it's in the Western Conference semifinals and James is a Laker.

Both the Warriors and the Lakers were underdogs when they knocked out the Sacramento Kings and the Memphis Grizzlies respectively in the first round. It took the Warriors more effort to do it while the Lakers enjoyed a longer rest.

As defending champions, the Warriors will need to figure out how to contain James and Anthony Davis, one of the league's best pairs in today's NBA.

The Lakers showed in the series against the Grizzlies that they are smart, physical and experienced enough to beat the West's No. 2 seed. Can they do it again with the same smart, physical and experienced Warriors?

Host: Li Xiang

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2023-05-02/CGTN-Sports-Talk-How-much-gas-do-Curry-James-still-have--1jtYpY5a7pm/index.html