On a night in which the game’s next breed of superstars took to the Parc des Princes pitch for a colossal clash of the European titans, Julian Draxler felt like a man out of his time.
At the age of 27, the Germany international should be coming into his prime, the beating heart of this Paris Saint-Germain side.
But the surprise that greeted his appearance in Mauricio Pochettino’s XI for the visit of Barcelona – his first Champions League start in two years – spoke volumes about the trajectory of a man who, long before his 30th birthday, already appears to be past his best.
While Kylian Mbappe scored his fourth goal of the tie and Lionel Messi rolled back the years with one of the greatest European strikes of his storied career, Draxler allowed a rare opportunity to pass him by on Wednesday night.
The former Schalke star was subbed off with just 59 minutes on the clock but you could have been forgiven for forgetting he was on the pitch by that point.
If there’s one photograph that sums up a player’s performance more than the one below, we haven’t seen it. The epitome of peripheral, fading quietly into the background.
With his contract expiring in July, have we seen the last of Draxler in Europe’s elite club competition? Perhaps.
And on last night’s evidence, it’s difficult to work out what Arsenal, or indeed Leeds United, would get if they signed the £37 million playmaker on a free transfer this summer.
Arsenal have been linked with Draxler since the Arsene Wenger days and, according to The Mirror, Mikel Arteta’s Gunners could offer a long-time target a fresh start in England after four years across the Channel.
The Daily Mail, meanwhile, reports Leeds are eyeing an ambitious swoop for the 2014 World Cup winner.
A few years ago, when Leeds were milling about the Championship as Draxler was heading to Paris for a cool £37 million, the prospect of the silky German swapping Parc des Princes for Elland Road felt like something out of a fever dream.
That it could now become reality says as much about Leeds’ rise as it does about Draxler’s fall.
Here’s what some fans had to say on Twitter about Draxler’s performance:
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