The Spanish giants were played off the park in their Club World Cup semi-final, highlighting the gap between them and the European champions
The world Fabian Ruiz used was “completeness”. Following Paris Saint-Germain’s 4-0 beatdown of Real Madrid at the Club World Cup, the Spain midfielder knew what his team had accomplished.
This was a comprehensive victory, the kind that seldom happens in any semi-final - never mind against a club like Madrid. PSG were good value for their thrashing, though. There was no luck here, no points of controversy, no individual situations that might have changed the flow, course or vibes of the game. Los Blancos had been battered.
Wednesday's result serves as a seminal moment at the end of a season that was full of them. PSG have made fools of pretty much every other top club in Europe over the past six months. To them, this was just another scalp on their way towards inevitable global domination.
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But for Madrid, this loss illustrated just how far behind the very best sides in Europe they really are. Replacing Carlo Ancelotti with Xabi Alonso, coupled with a smattering of smart signings, was meant to solve the issues that plagued their 2024-25 campaign. But in New Jersey - and not for the first time in the last 12 months - they looked a shadow of a top-class team, a work in progress trying to compete with the global elite - and failing miserably.