Karembeu, who had three years at Madrid before joining Middlesbrough in 2000, can nonetheless see PSG taking shape as a major European force.
Their run to last season s final of the Champions League caught the eye, and they recovered impressively in the group campaign this year after a painful home defeat to Manchester United and a loss to RB Leipzig.
Karembeu played when Real Madrid ended a 32-year wait for their seventh European Cup/Champions League crown in the 1998 final against Juventus.
He drew a parallel between Madrid building towards that, and going on to enjoy more sustained success over the next 20 years, with what PSG are doing.
I talked about Real Madrid. It s 32 years of scarcity to be able to conquer the septima , the octava and so many others. It takes a lot of patience, Karembeu said.
That s what I believe this Parisian team has been doing for many years.
With the backing of Qatar Sports Investments, PSG have been able to compete against Europe s elite in the transfer market, bringing in Neymar for €222million from Barcelona when they activated his buy-out clause, while also attracting Angel Di Maria and keeping hold of Mbappe so far.
They have accumulated criticism, Karembeu said. Nevertheless, they have always invested in football, in the players and in the structure of the club.
They have innovated to get results. Last year they played the final, this year they qualified [for the last 16].
Karembeu has been impressed by the calibre of PSG s statement signings since the Qatari investors came on board, seeing positive benefits for Ligue 1 as a whole.
Since they arrived, they have managed to give visibility to the French championship by bringing in big stars like Zlatan [Ibrahimovic], [David] Beckham and many others, Karembeu said.
[You can] see PSG and the French championship to inspire other generations like [Presnel] Kimpembe and so many others to play in the Champions League and become world champions, but also to go further and further in the European cups.
