For more than a decade, Paris Saint-Germain's Qatari owners have spent lavishly to attract big stars.
The aim is to make the club profitable, erase the "residue" image of a team often associated with hooligans and build a competitive squad capable of winning the Champions League.
With unprecedented revenue last year - more than 800 million Euros - they have managed to build solid growth.
They have succeeded in getting their home stadium out of the violence that often made the atmosphere at the Parc des Princes tense and hostile.
And they also brought big names to Paris. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe open the possibility of winning the biggest tournament in Europe.
But winning the Champions League is still a distant dream...
The superstars have now left the Parc des Princes, and it may sound paradoxical, but PSG could be better equipped in their journey to find glory in Europe.
After Messi moved to Inter Miami and Neymar to Al-Hilal, Mbappe's arrival at Real Madrid last summer marked the end of an era at PSG. The era of relying on the individual skills of star players and spending money has become the norm since Qatar took over in 2011.
The huge void left by Mbappe has not been filled by another superstar.
Instead, coach Luis Enrique focused on shaping what he had. For Enrique, Mbappe cannot be copied but can be replaced with a number of players who are capable of bringing as many goals as or more than the captain of the French team.
For me, it is a continuation of last season, the coach who has used 21 players in 4 Ligue 1 matches this season said, We are a young team, thats true. But we are full of desire, that's great. I am very lucky to have a squad like this.
Enrique has asked for the recruitment of little-known but outstanding players in all positions to create competition. Every position has a second choice. This is even more important this season because the new format of the Champions League means more matches.
PSG have signed goalkeeper Matvey Safonov, defender Willian Pacho and midfielder Joao Neves, as well as winger Desire Doue. Pacho impressed at Eintracht Frankfurt while Neves won 11 caps for Portugal at the age of 19.
Pacho and Neves quickly integrated and PSG with their new look showed it immediately. They have won all 4 matches to quickly top the Ligue 1 rankings.
The biggest question mark for the season is the ability to maintain a strong attack without needing their best players. With two agile and powerful players on the wings - Ousmane Dembele and Badley Barcola - combined with Marco Asensio in the role of the fake number 9, PSG seems to have found the right answer.
The team has scored 16 goals, conceded just three and has the best goal difference in four Ligue 1 games since Reims in 1952. Only Marseille striker Mason Greenwood has scored more goals than Barcola and Dembele, while Neves leads the way with three assists.
Unlike their domestic dominance - winning 10/12 of the most recent seasons - PSG have only reached 1 Champions League final since being bought by Qatar Sports Investments. But for Enrique, "we will wait and see what PSG will achieve at the end of the season".
