New Paris Saint-Germain signs Neymar during a press conderence in Paris Aug 4, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

Those improvements have come at a cost for the team's fans, who have seen the price of season tickets double over the past six years, with holders being asked to pay extra to watch Champions League matches.

A number of protests have been held in recent seasons by longstanding supporters who suspect the club of trying to attract a wealthier demographic to the Parc des Princes.

Those voices have been listened to, and the gradual return of PSG's hard-core fans last season has greatly improved the match-day atmosphere.

To repay that faith, the team now has to live up to expectations in Europe, after several years of underachievement. Despite the money being lavished on the squad, it has yet to match the feats of the PSG team that reached the Champions League semifinals in 1995 and won the now defunct European Cup Winners' Cup the following season.

Signing Neymar has certainly been a spectacular media coup. The challenge now is for him to transform PSG from a very good French team to a great European club.

Agencies