PSG's Club World Club Loss Sparks Talk of Global Shift - But Does It Matter?

PSG's shock Club World Cup loss to Brazil's Botafogo has sparked debated about over Europe's grip of the global game.

Narrative 1 - It's a triumph for the Club World Cup and its mission to pit teams from every corner of the world against each other in a tournament for the first time. It proves that soccer is thriving globally and the lesser fancied continents are a match for the European superpowers.

It's backed up by Inter Miami’s defeat of Porto: even the supposedly weaker MLS (per Cristiano Ronaldo) can hold their own, especially when Messi can still do his thing from dead ball situations.

And in a result that surely pleased Saudi Arabia's pal and FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, Al-Hilal more than held their own against the mighty Real Madrid.

Narrative 2 - It’s meaningless; like the tournament itself. Exhausted European teams in 90-degree heat are treating the matches as many suspected they would - as little more than a training exercise - a series of pre-preseason friendlies and an opportunity to bed in some new signings (and in Madrid's case manager, too).

The truth? Probably somewhere in between. Would it be a surprise if a non-European team won the tournament. Yes. At least according to Opta computers and the bookies. 

But would it be meaningful? Probably not. Without a clear way to judge true merit, whoever wins, soccer is the loser.