Paris Saint-Germain can win Champions League - Ginola

The ex-France international also thinks Monaco can challenge among Europe's elite, once they are back in the competition, admitting Ligue 1 is a two-horse race between the pair

David Ginola believes former club Paris Saint-Germain can win the Champions League in the next few years and insists their big spending in Ligue 1 will benefit French football.

PSG host rivals Monaco on Sunday, with Claudio Ranieri’s side top of the table after five games following a summer of huge spending financed by Russian billionaire owner Dmitry Rybolovlev.

Les Parisiens won the Ligue 1 title last season following massive expenditure on leading players themselves, and Ginola believes a French side could conquer Europe in the coming years.

“I think Paris could win the Champions League in the future,” Ginola told Goal. “Monaco maybe as well when they are back in the competition. It’s good for the promotion of French football to have two teams who can compete with the best.

“We now have players in France who would never have considered  playing before in our league. The investors from abroad are also promoting the domestic game because the best French players might prefer to stay in France now.

“Before, they’ve gone abroad for titles and because of money, but now they may feel they can fulfil their careers at a club like Paris or Monaco.”

Ginola subscribes to the view that Ligue 1 is a two-horse race but feels it is too early in the campaign to make a definitive judgement on Monaco following their promotion last season and heavy spending spree over the summer.

The former midfielder has also been impressed by Radamel Falcao, who has scored four league goals in five appearances since his €60 (£50.5) million switch to Monaco, and believes the Colombian should beat PSG rivals Zlatan Ibrahimovic to become the division’s top scorer this term.

“They are obviously the two best teams and one of them will win Ligue 1,” Ginola added. “Sunday will give us a better idea of what will happen in the next few months. We don’t know much about Monaco yet and this is the first test for them - maybe the only test.

“Falcao is looking promising and scored four goals already. He’s a great player but so are Cavani and Ibrahimovic so it will be interesting to see who is better. 

“They are all players who guarantee you goals every year and that’s why one of these teams will win the title.”