The builders v the buyers

            Three years ago, when Paris St-Germain were meandering towards a 13th-placed finish in France's top tier, few could have imagined they would ever be in a position to rival Barcelona. The modern-day PSG could hardly be more different from Barcelona.While the former was only founded in 1970 and is still seeking its true identity, the latter is 114 years old and regarded as both a national institution and cultural symbol. Sporting director Leonardo was accused of arrogance when, after the most recent defeat at lowly Reims, he claimed PSG are "a team built for Europe", implying that they find it difficult to motivate themselves when playing on poor surfaces against lesser teams.Yet the evidence suggests he is right. They have often appeared disjointed in Ligue 1 matches, and sometimes even disinterested, relying heavily on Ibrahimovic's brilliance to secure results. Fortunately for PSG, the Swede's contribution of 24 goals in 25 appearances has kept them on course for a first title since 1994.Barcelona, too, have been helped on their way by big-money signings in recent years. Ironically, the £40m acquisition of Zlatan Ibrahimovic will line-up against his former employers in two weeks' time.  It is a clash of cultures that is reciprocated, albeit in less extreme fashion, in another interesting last-eight tie between Malaga - a club also influenced by Qatari investment - and Jurgen Klopp's free-flowing Borussia Dortmund side.
            In both instances, the traditional powers will be expected to overcome their "nouveau riche" opponents - yet neither are foregone conclusions and PSG are relishing this opportunity to show Europe just how far they have come. It has been a different story in Europe, however, where Ibrahimovic has scored only two of PSG's 17 goals. That is not to suggest the talismanic forward has underperformed. After all, he has also contributed five assists. Rather the likes of Javier Pastore, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Lucas Moura and Jeremy Menez have upped their games in the Champions League, ensuring PSG are a far stronger collective proposition in this competitionA sudden, dramatic investment of more than £200m on new players following Qatar Sports Investment's (QSI) takeover in 2011 has seen the two-time French champions metamorphose into a team capable of competing with the very best. The Qatari method of throwing huge sums of money at the club in the hope of creating a European superpower in extra-quick time contrasts with Barcelona's recipe for success, based upon youth development and an unwavering faith in their footballing philosophy.