French football club
Football club
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (French pronunciation: [paʁi sɛ̃ ʒɛʁmɛ̃]), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris 🤑 SG or simply PSG, is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top 🤑 division of French football. As France's most successful club, they have won over 40 official honours, including eleven league titles 🤑 and one major European trophy. Their home ground is the Parc des Princes located in the 16th arrondissement of Paris 🤑 near the commune Boulogne-Billancourt.
The Parisians were founded in 1970, following the merger of Paris FC and Stade Saint-Germain. PSG won 🤑 their first major honour, the French Cup, in 1982 and their first Division 1 title in 1986. The 1990s was 🤑 among the most successful periods in the club's history; they claimed a second league title, three French Cups, two French 🤑 League Cups, two French Super Cups and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1996. After suffering a decline in fortunes 🤑 during the 2000s, the Red and Blues have enjoyed a revival since 2011 with increased financial backing, achieving unparalleled dominance 🤑 in domestic competitions, winning multiple league titles and national cups. PSG have also become a regular feature in the UEFA 🤑 Champions League, reaching their first final in 2024.
PSG have the most consecutive seasons playing in France's top flight and are 🤑 one of two French clubs to have won a major European title. They are the most popular football club in 🤑 France and one of the most widely supported teams in the world. PSG's home kit colours are red, blue, and 🤑 white, and their crest features the Eiffel Tower and a fleur-de-lis. Paris have a longstanding rivalry with Olympique de Marseille; 🤑 the duo contest French football's most notorious match, Le Classique.
Since 2011, Paris Saint-Germain have been majority-owned by Qatari government-backed investment 🤑 fund Qatar Sports Investments, which currently holds 87.5% of the shares. American investment firm Arctos Partners owns the remaining 12.5%. 🤑 PSG are the richest club in France and one of the wealthiest in the world. As of 2024, PSG have 🤑 the fifth-highest revenue in the footballing world with an annual revenue of €654 million according to Deloitte, and are the 🤑 world's seventh-most valuable football club, worthR$4.21 billion according to Forbes.
History
Creation and split (1970–1973)
In the summer of 1970, an ambitious group 🤑 of businessmen decided to create a major team in the French capital.[1][2] Guy Crescent and Pierre-Étienne Guyot chose to merge 🤑 their virtual side, Paris FC, created in 1969, with Stade Saint-Germain of Henri Patrelle after the team from Saint-Germain-en-Laye, 15 🤑 km west of Paris and founded in 1904, won promotion to Division 2.[1][2][3] However, the three men were stuck with 🤑 the financial feasibility of the project until they met Real Madrid president Santiago Bernabéu.[4][5] He told them that starting a 🤑 crowdfunding campaign was the best solution to establish a new team. 20,000 people backed the project and Paris Saint-Germain were 🤑 formed on 17 June 1970.[4] Guyot was elected the club's first president a few days later.[1][6][7] For the first time 🤑 in French football history, the fans had financially contributed in the making of a club.[8] The merger was made official 🤑 following the creation of the club's association on 12 August 1970.[6] PSG retains this day as their foundation date.[1]
Paris FC 🤑 contributed with the financial backing, while Stade Saint-Germain provided the sporting infrastructure, from the Division 2 status to the Camp 🤑 des Loges training center, as well as the manager Pierre Phelipon and most of the players, including Bernard Guignedoux, Michel 🤑 Prost and Camille Choquier.[9] PSG further strengthened their squad with the signing of Jean Djorkaeff, captain of the French national 🤑 team.[10] PSG's first official game was a 1–1 league draw away to Poitiers on 23 August 1970. Guignedoux scored the 🤑 club's first ever goal from a free-kick.[11] The club went on to clinch promotion to Division 1 and claim the 🤑 Division 2 title in its inaugural season.[2][12]
PSG's first top-flight season ended with a safe 16th place, meaning they would stay 🤑 in Division 1 next year, but behind the scenes the club was in a delicate financial situation.[9][13] Back in September 🤑 1971, the Paris City Council offered 850k francs to pay the club's debt and save its place in the elite, 🤑 demanding PSG in return to adopt the more Parisian name "Paris Football Club."[9][14] Crescent, who had replaced Guyot as club 🤑 president before the start of the season, was in favor of the name change, but Patrelle was against it.[3][15] The 🤑 disagreement led to Crescent's resignation in December 1971, handing the presidency to Patrelle.[14] The latter tried to persuade the council 🤑 to reconsider their position, but they remained inflexible and the club split on 1 June 1972, a few days after 🤑 the last match of the campaign.[9][14][16] Backed by the council, Crescent re-formed Paris FC and remained in Division 1, while 🤑 the PSG of Patrelle were administratively relegated to Division 3, thus losing professional status.[3][9][10]
Top-flight return and Parc des Princes move 🤑 (1973–1978)
Paris Saint-Germain really took flight with the arrival of fashion designer Daniel Hechter as chairman of the management committee in 🤑 June 1973.[1][17] Besides offering his financial support to the club, he also designed the team's classic home outfit.[13][18] Hechter then 🤑 shocked the national game ahead of 1973–74 by appointing French legend Just Fontaine as sporting director.[9][10]
Robert Vicot's men finished second 🤑 in Group B, four points behind Red Star, qualifying for the promotion play–offs against Valenciennes. PSG lost 1–2 away to 🤑 Valenciennes, but PSG recorded an incredible 4–2 comeback at the Parc des Princes, thus achieving promotion to Division 1 and 🤑 regaining its professional status abandoned two years earlier.[9][19] Overwhelmed by emotion, Fontaine collapsed on the lawn and was then carried 🤑 by the players in celebration.[19][20] Since then, PSG have always played in the first tier of French football.[19]
PSG played their 🤑 first game at the Parc des Princes during this campaign. It was against fellow Parisian side Red Star on 10 🤑 November 1973. PSG won 3–1 and Othniel Dossevi scored the club's first goal at the stadium.[21] The Parisians also began 🤑 their tradition of brilliant Coupe de France runs, reaching the quarterfinals after beating Metz at the Parc in front of 🤑 25,000 spectators (2–1; 4–1 on aggregate).[22]
In an ironic turn of events, Paris FC were relegated to Division 2 at the 🤑 same time as Paris Saint-Germain moved up to the top flight in 1974, leaving their home stadium, the Parc des 🤑 Princes, in the hands of their estranged Parisian brothers. Since then, the Parc has been the home of PSG.[9][16] With 🤑 promotion to Division 1 also came a change of command. Daniel Hechter, then chairman of the management committee, took over 🤑 as club president in June 1974 following the resignation of Patrelle.[17][23] He named Francis Borelli as vice-president.[18][22]
Under Hechter's tenure, the 🤑 Parisians failed to win any silverware in the 1970s but began their tradition of brilliant Coupe de France runs, established 🤑 themselves in Division 1, and attracted several prestigious players, including Jean-Pierre Dogliani, Mustapha Dahleb and Carlos Bianchi.[9][10] After Hechter was 🤑 banned for life from football by the French Football Federation in January 1978, for running a ticketing scheme at the 🤑 Parc des Princes, Francis Borelli, who had been vice-president until then, became the new boss of the Île-de-France club.[9][18][22]
First major 🤑 honours and decline (1978–1991)
Following the arrival of manager Georges Peyroche in November 1979,[24] the club established itself as a top-half 🤑 team and then welcomed its first major honour when the Parisians reached their first French Cup final in 1982.[13][25][26][27] Up 🤑 against the great Saint-Étienne of Michel Platini at the Parc des Princes, Nambatingue Toko opened the scoring for PSG following 🤑 a good cross from Ivica Šurjak. Saint-Étienne reacted and Platini equalized to send the game to extra-time. Platini then doubled 🤑 his personal account, giving the Greens the lead.[20][21][28] The Parc des Princes faithful no longer believed in their team when 🤑 Dominique Rocheteau, after yet another assist from Šurjak, scored an unexpected equalizer in the last seconds of the match.[20][21] PSG 🤑 fans invaded the field in joy, while club president Francis Borelli kneeled and kissed the lawn of the Parc.[20][28] Following 🤑 an interruption of 30 minutes, the penalty shootout sealed PSG's coronation.[21][28] Dominique Baratelli stopped Saint-Étienne's last attempt and Jean-Marc Pilorget 🤑 scored the winning penalty for the capital side.[20][28] This success opened the doors to Europe, where PSG made an impressive 🤑 continental debut in reaching the quarterfinals of the 1982–83 European Cup Winners' Cup.[12][29]
Dominique Rocheteau scored one of the club's most 🤑 iconic goals ever.
On the domestic scene, results were just as satisfying. PSG captured their first podium finish, coming in 3rd 🤑 place, and repeated the feat in the 1983 Coupe de France Final, this time against Nantes.[10][30] Recently crowned French champions, 🤑 the Canaries were headed for the league-cup double, leading at the break after overturning Pascal Zaremba's early strike. But PSG 🤑 managed their own comeback in the second half as Sušić equalized and then assisted Toko for the winning goal (3–2).[25][29][30] 🤑 The campaign ended on a sad note, though, as Georges Peyroche left the club.[31]
Three years later, under the guidance of 🤑 manager Gérard Houllier, PSG claimed their maiden league crown in 1985–86.[10][32] They dominated the championship from start to finish thanks 🤑 in big part to the likes of Joël Bats, Dominique Bathenay, Luis Fernandez, Dominique Rocheteau and Safet Sušić, all of 🤑 whom made up the backbone of the team.[9][25] The victory away to Toulouse on Matchday 3 meant PSG sat at 🤑 the top of the table for the first time ever, a spot they never relinquished, going a memorable 26 matches 🤑 without defeat towards the title.[9][25][32]
The follow-up to the league title was not as glorious though.[25] Defending champions PSG finished the 🤑 league in 7th place, suffered an early exit from the French Cup and were knocked out by Czech minnows Vítkovice 🤑 in the first round of a disappointing European Cup debut.[25][33][34] The following year, PSG avoided relegation on the final match 🤑 of the 1987–88 season thanks to a dramatic 0–1 win away to Le Havre.[35] Highly indebted, the club briefly bounced 🤑 back, fighting for the 1988–89 league crown with Marseille, before going into decline.[25][36][37]
Canal+ takeover and golden era (1991–1998)
George Weah during 🤑 his playing days at Paris Saint-Germain
The takeover by television giants Canal+ in 1991 revitalised Paris Saint-Germain as they became one 🤑 of the richest clubs in France.[1][18] Canal+ wiped out PSG's huge debt and appointed Michel Denisot, journalist on the channel, 🤑 as club president in place of Francis Borelli.[18][38] Now enjoying serious investment, the Red and Blues were able to set 🤑 their sights steadily higher: they had to qualify for European competitions in their first season and become French champions within 🤑 three years.[9][38] In consequence, Canal+ increased the club's budget from 90 to 120 million francs in order to build a 🤑 strong squad for the 1991–92 season.[9][38] The revolution began with the appointment of renowned coach Artur Jorge, famous for leading 🤑 Porto to the 1986–87 European Cup trophy. The club then embarked on a spending spree, signing Brazilian stars Ricardo and 🤑 Valdo as well as proven French players Paul Le Guen, Laurent Fournier, Patrick Colleter and prolific Liberian striker George Weah.[38]
The 🤑 1992–93 season also marked the beginning of Le Classique, the rivalry between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille, as both teams battled 🤑 each other on the field for the 1992–93 French Division 1 crown.[38] PSG finished runners-up after losing both games against 🤑 Marseille.[39][40] In the second match between the two clubs, only three days after winning the 1992–93 UEFA Champions League, league 🤑 leaders Marseille welcomed closest challengers PSG in a match that would determine the title.[40] After Marseille won their fifth consecutive 🤑 championship, Bernard Tapie and Marseille were found guilty of match-fixing in what became known as the French football bribery scandal.[41][42] 🤑 The French Football Federation stripped Marseille of their title and offered it to second-placed PSG, who refused it because club 🤑 owners Canal+ thought that claiming the trophy would anger their subscribers back in Marseille.[40][43] As a result, the 1992–93 title 🤑 remained unattributed, with Canal+ even refused letting the capital club participate in next year's UEFA Champions League after UEFA excluded 🤑 Marseille from the competition. Instead, Monaco, who finish third in Ligue 1 took the Champions League spot instead.[43]
Considered the club's 🤑 golden era, the Parisians won nine trophies and reached five consecutive European semi-finals during the 1990s, including their first UEFA 🤑 Champions League last-four appearance and two at the same stage of the UEFA Cup.[9][12][38] PSG's crowning glory came in the 🤑 1996 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final with legend Luis Fernandez now as coach.[44] Bruno Ngotty scored the only goal of 🤑 the match to defeat Rapid Wien and make Paris the second French club to ever clinch a major European tournament 🤑 and the youngest club in history to win a European title at 26 years of existence.[45][46] The following season, PSG 🤑 finished runners-up in the 1996 UEFA Super Cup and 1997 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final.[47][48] On the domestic scene, results 🤑 were just as satisfying, with Paris celebrating a second league title, three French Cups, two French League Cups and just 🤑 as many French Super Cup wins.[9][12][38]
Crisis mode and relegation battles (1998–2011)
Club legend Pauleta, who was PSG's all-time top goalscorer, before 🤑 the QSI takeover
PSG then went into decline following years of mismanagement.[12] In the summer 2000, PSG spent heavily on new 🤑 players signing Nicolas Anelka, Peter Luccin and Stéphane Dalmat as part of the "PSG Banlieue" project of its shareholder Canal+, 🤑 with the goal of winning Ligue 1 and performing a solid UEFA Champions League campaign but it was a failure.[12] 🤑 In 2003, the club faced a massive financial loss with a deficit of €65 million, leading Canal+ to fire Luis 🤑 Fernandez as coach and Laurent Perpère as president and replacing them with Vahid Halilhodžić, who became the new coach and 🤑 Francis Graille the new president.[12] The club's form dwindled as they slipped further down the table and eventually, a split 🤑 from owners Canal+ became inevitable.[9][12]
At the start of the 21st century, PSG struggled to rescale the heights despite the magic 🤑 of Ronaldinho and the goals of Pauleta.[1] Five more trophies arrived in the form of three French Cups (including one 🤑 against Le Classique arch-rivals Marseille in 2006), one French League Cup and one UEFA Intertoto Cup, but the club became 🤑 better known for lurching from one high-profile crisis to another.[12][49][50]
The French premium television channel sold the club to Colony Capital 🤑 in 2006. The situation, however, only got worse and PSG spent the 2006–07 and 2007–08 campaigns staving off relegations.[9][12] The 🤑 latter was the most dramatic. Marred by poor results and fan violence, Paris avoided the drop on the final match 🤑 after a 2–1 win at Sochaux. The hero was Ivorian striker Amara Diané who scored both goals that night. Despite 🤑 not enjoying the star status of other current or past PSG greats, Diané is still considered a legend by most 🤑 Parisian fans.[8]
QSI ownership and domestic dominance (2011–present)
After two years of solid progress and stability under the stewardship of manager Antoine 🤑 Kombouaré and president Robin Leproux, the fortunes of Paris Saint-Germain changed dramatically when Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) purchased the club 🤑 in 2011.[12] The takeover made PSG not only the richest club in France but one of the wealthiest in the 🤑 world.[51] Club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi pledged to form a team capable of winning the UEFA Champions League and making the 🤑 club France's biggest name.[12][52]
Zlatan Ibrahimović greeting PSG fans in the Eiffel Tower on the day he signed for the club 🤑 in July 2012
Club legend Leonardo was brought back in as sporting director and oversaw a spending spree in summer 2011 🤑 that has so far been unprecedented in Ligue 1 history, including the signings of Blaise Matuidi, Salvatore Sirigu, Maxwell, Kevin 🤑 Gameiro and Javier Pastore.[12] As a result, the Parisians have dominated French football, despite finishing behind Montpellier in 2011–12, the 🤑 elusive league crown was finally brought back to Paris in 2012–13 driven by star player Zlatan Ibrahimović, team captain Thiago 🤑 Silva and manager Carlo Ancelotti.[12][53] During the season, ahead of the winter transfer deadline it was announced that David Beckham 🤑 signed a five-month deal with the club.[54][55] Ibrahimović's 30-goal haul helped the capital side to its first Ligue 1 title 🤑 in 19 years, and third overall. They also became a regular in the knockout stages of the Champions League,[56] being 🤑 eliminated from the UEFA Champions League on away goals by Barcelona in the quarter-finals after drawing both games.[53] Big money 🤑 signings continued with the arrivals of Edinson Cavani in 2013 for a league record of €64 million,[57] making it the 🤑 sixth largest transfer in history and David Luiz in 2014 for a £50 million transfer fee, a world-record transfer for 🤑 a defender.[58][59] Despite the departure of Ancelotti, PSG kept its winning ways under Laurent Blanc. The club secured a maiden 🤑 domestic treble (Ligue 1, Coupe de la Ligue and Trophée des Champions) in the 2013–14 season, before claiming an unprecedented 🤑 national quadruple (Ligue 1, Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue and Trophée des Champions) twice in a row in 🤑 2014–15 and 2024–16, winning the latter with a record-breaking 96 points, becoming the only first French men's team to achieve 🤑 that feat.[60][61]
Fresh from three consecutive UEFA Europa League titles with Sevilla, Unai Emery was hired by PSG for his European 🤑 pedigree.[52] But with star player Ibrahimović gone, the club endured a disappointing 2024–17 season.[62][63] Paris were pipped to the Ligue 🤑 1 title by Monaco, missing out on top spot for the first time in five years. Meanwhile, in the Champions 🤑 League, the club suffered several disappointing nights,[56] including "La Remontada" ("The Comeback") against Barcelona, losing 6–1 in the second leg 🤑 of the round of sixteen, despite winning the first leg in France by a score of 4–0.[64]
Neymar during his presentation 🤑 in 2024, after becoming the most expensive player ever
In response, PSG signed Neymar for a world-record fee of €222 million 🤑 and French prodigy Kylian Mbappé on an initial loan, which was made permanent in 2024 in a transfer worth €180 🤑 million plus add-ons, making him both the second-most expensive player and most expensive teenager.[65] The capital club reclaimed the Ligue 🤑 1 title and also won the Trophée des Champions, the Coupe de la Ligue and the Coupe de France, clinching 🤑 the domestic quadruple for the third time in four seasons.[66] Despite their massive expenditure, in the Champions League, PSG lost 🤑 to Real Madrid in the round of 16, leading Unai Emery to leave the club at the end of the 🤑 season.[67]
In May 2024, Thomas Tuchel signed a two-year contract with PSG.[68] Paris Saint-Germain again fell in the Champions League round 🤑 of 16 in 2024–19, suffering a shock 3–1 defeat at home to Manchester United after winning the first leg 2–0 🤑 at Old Trafford.[69] This season, they also won the Ligue 1 for the 8th time in their history, but lost 🤑 in the Coupe de France Final against Rennes.[70][71] PSG were eliminated from the Coupe de la Ligue in embarrassing fashion, 🤑 as they lost 2–1 at home to Guingamp in the quarterfinals.[72][73] In the 2024–20 season, PSG won the Ligue 1 🤑 for the 9th time in their history, despite the season ending prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and also reclaimed 🤑 the Coupe de France defeating Saint-Étienne in the final and won the last-ever Coupe de la Ligue defeating Lyon in 🤑 a penalty shootout.[74] In the 2024–20 UEFA Champions League, PSG reached the semi-finals for the second time since 1995, after 🤑 a last minute 2–1 win over Atalanta,[75] before losing to Bayern Munich 1–0 in the final in Lisbon, with former 🤑 PSG player Kingsley Coman scoring the only goal.[76]
Tuchel's tenure at Paris Saint-Germain was marred by a fractured relationship with the 🤑 club's hierarchy, leading him to be dismissed on 24 December, despite placing top of their Champions League group.[77] On 2 🤑 January 2024, former PSG player Mauricio Pochettino was appointed as the new head coach.[78][79] PSG's good form in the Champions 🤑 League continued in 2024 with a second consecutive semi-final appearance, a first for the club.[80] Domestically, PSG won the Coupe 🤑 de France, but failed to retain the Ligue 1 title, finishing one point behind Lille, losing the league for the 🤑 second time in four years.[81]
Record Ballon D'Or winner Lionel Messi, who signed for the club in August 2024
During the 2024 🤑 summer transfer season, PSG completed one of the most historic transfer windows in football history, exercising the option to buy 🤑 Danilo Pereira and signing Achraf Hakimi from Inter Milan for a reported fee of €60 million. In addition, the club 🤑 registered the free transfers of Georginio Wijnaldum, Sergio Ramos, and Gianluigi Donnarumma.[82][83][84] PSG concluded their transfer window with the signing 🤑 of one of the greatest players of all time and record Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi, who unexpectedly left Barcelona 🤑 following the expiration of his contract, and promising defender Nuno Mendes on an initial loan, which was made permanent in 🤑 2024.[85][86] Later in the season, PSG went on to reclaim the Ligue 1 title for the record 10th time,[87] but 🤑 fell short in the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid in the round of 16, a tie amplified 🤑 by the uncertainty surrounding Kylian Mbappé's future.[88] However, on 21 May 2024, Mbappé extended his contract with PSG until 2025,[89] 🤑 despite speculations of a possible transfer to Real Madrid,[90] which prompted La Liga officials to file a complaint to UEFA 🤑 regarding accumulating losses of PSG in the previous years.[91]
Unsatisfied with the club direction and lack of European success club president 🤑 Nasser Al-Khelaifi promised changes heading into next season and stated the team would not win the UEFA Champions League as 🤑 currently constructed.[92] Changes were needed at the club on a very deep level and as such during the pre season 🤑 for the 2024–23 season the club embarked on an ambitious rebuild. This began with the hiring of transfer market expert 🤑 Luís Campos who made his name at Monaco first and then Lille. A change in club ethos was noted, and 🤑 was followed by the sacking of first team coach Pochettino,[93] while an announcement for the hiring of Christophe Galtier was 🤑 made in quick succession.[94] A busy pre-season followed with signings of Nuno Mendes, Vitinha, Hugo Ekitike and Nordi Mukiele. Eleven 🤑 players were put on the transfer list as Galtier looked to reduce the squad size.[95]
Identity
Germain the Lynx, the club's official 🤑 mascot
Colours and mascot
Since their foundation, Paris Saint-Germain have represented both the city of Paris and the nearby royal town of 🤑 Saint-Germain-en-Laye.[12] As a result, red, blue and white are the club's traditional colours.[96] The red and blue are Parisian colours, 🤑 a nod to revolutionary figures Lafayette and Jean Sylvain Bailly, and the white is a symbol of French royalty and 🤑 Saint-Germain-en-Laye.[96][97]
On the club's crest, the Eiffel Tower in red and the blue background represent Paris, while the fleur de lys 🤑 in white is a hint to the coat of arms of Saint-Germain-en-Laye.[96][97] The fleur de lys is a royal symbol 🤑 as well and recalls that French King Louis XIV was born in the town.[96] Throughout its history, PSG have brandished 🤑 several crests, but all of them have featured the club's three historical colours.[98]
Likewise, PSG's most iconic shirts have been predominantly 🤑 red, blue or white, with the remaining two colours included as well. The club's official mascot, Germain the Lynx, also 🤑 sports PSG's traditional colours.[97] It was unveiled during the 2010 Tournoi de Paris in commemoration of the club's 40th anniversary, 🤑 and can be seen entertaining kids in the stands of the Parc des Princes or near the pitch with the 🤑 players during the warm-up.[100]
Anthems and mottos
"Allez Paris!," recorded by Belgian actress and singer Annie Cordy in 1971, was the club's 🤑 first official anthem. A PSG fan from the start, she was part of an association of hundreds of celebrities who 🤑 contributed to the club's foundation in 1970.[101][102] The club's second anthem, "Allez Paris-Saint-Germain!" by Les Parisiens, was recorded in 1977, 🤑 replacing Cordy's version. An initiative of historical PSG leader and music producer Charles Talar, he produced and released it under 🤑 his homonym record label.[103][104][105] The song's chorus became a popular chant among PSG supporters during games.[106] A new version, also 🤑 called "Allez Paris-Saint-Germain!," was recorded in 2010 as part of the club's 40th anniversary celebrations. Sung to the tune of 🤑 "Go West" by Village People, the lyrics were rewritten with suggestions made by fans. This is the club's current official 🤑 anthem.[97][100][104]
"Ô Ville Lumière" ("Oh City of Light"), to the tune of "Flower of Scotland," is another veritable club anthem for 🤑 PSG supporters.[107][108] Other notable chants from supporters' groups in the Boulogne and Auteuil stands include "Le Parc est à nous" 🤑 ("The Parc is ours"), "Ici, c'est Paris!" ("This is Paris!"), and "Paris est magique!" ("Paris is magical!").[97][109] Both stands began 🤑 exchanging these chants during PSG matches in the 1990s.[106][110][111] "Ici, c'est Paris!" and "Paris est magique!" are also the club's 🤑 most iconic mottos.[97][112][113] "Who Said I Would" by Phill Collins is also a traditional anthem for the fans. The song 🤑 has accompanied the players' entry into the field since 1992.[114]
Iconic shirts
During their first three seasons of existence, the home shirt 🤑 of Paris Saint-Germain was red with blue and white details in its sleeves and neck to bring together the three 🤑 colours of the club: the red and blue of Paris, and the white of Saint-Germain-en-Laye.[115] During the 2010–11 season, PSG 🤑 wore a red shirt during home matches to commemorate their 40th anniversary.[116]
The connection between Paris Saint-Germain and the city's fashion 🤑 houses is a longstanding one. French fashion designer Daniel Hechter became PSG president in 1973 and designed the club's traditional 🤑 home look that same year: a blue shirt with a red vertical stripe flanked by two thinner white stripes (blue-white-red-white-blue).[115][117] 🤑 First worn in the 1973–74 season, the so-called "Hechter shirt" has remained the classic home identity of PSG ever since.[118][119][120]
The 🤑 three most iconic shirts of Paris Saint-Germain
The famous jersey made its debut during a home Ligue 2 game against Red 🤑 Star on 10 November 1973.[121] This was also the club's maiden match at the Parc des Princes. PSG won 3–1 🤑 as Othniel Dossevi scored the club's first goal at the stadium as well as the first with the Hechter shirt.[21] 🤑 PSG stars from the 1990s and 2000s like Raí, Ronaldinho and Pauleta are associated with this kit. While wearing it, 🤑 the capital club reached five European semi-finals in a row between 1993 and 1997, claimed the 1995–96 UEFA Cup Winners' 🤑 Cup and achieved eight consecutive wins against Le Classique arch-rivals Olympique de Marseille between 2002 and 2004.[122]
The general belief is 🤑 that Hechter based his creation on the red-and-white jersey worn by Ajax, the dominant team in Europe at the time, 🤑 but with the French flag in mind.[13][115][117] Hechter himself has denied this, though, instead claiming he was inspired by the 🤑 Ford Mustang. He transposed the car's hood stripes on the shirt and employed the three colours of the club.[115] The 🤑 Hechter shirt has two alternate versions: the "reversed Hechter" (red-white-blue-white-red), introduced in the 1974–75 season, and the "white Hechter" (white-blue-red-blue-white), 🤑 which premiered in the 1994–95 season.[115][120][123]
It was with the club's most iconic away outfit, though, that fans saw the first 🤑 big PSG team which won their maiden French Cup titles in 1982 and 1983, experienced their first European campaign in 🤑 1983, and claimed their maiden Ligue 1 crown in 1986. The shirt was white with blue and red vertical stripes 🤑 on the left.[118] Like the Hechter jersey, it debuted in the 1973–74 season as the away kit.[115] Promoted by PSG 🤑 president Francis Borelli, the white shirt was the club's home identity from 1981 to 1990.[118] Now known as the "Borelli 🤑 shirt," it is synonym with PSG legends from the 1980s like Safet Sušić, Luis Fernández and Dominique Bathenay.[119][124]
Crest evolution
The club's 🤑 first crest was basically the same as the original Paris FC (PFC) logo. Having to merge and give birth to 🤑 PSG using Stade Saint-Germain's stadium, the PFC crest kept its original design but the name below it changed from "Paris 🤑 FC" to "Paris Saint-Germain Football Club." This badge consisted of a blue football with a red vessel inside it. The 🤑 latter is a historic symbol of Paris and is present in the city's coat of arms. The name of the 🤑 club was written below in red.[125]
Club crest between 1992 and 1995
PSG, however, split from PFC in 1972 and thus needed 🤑 a new crest. Representing both Paris and Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the club's second crest became the basis of the one the fans 🤑 know today. The round logo featured the Eiffel Tower in red against a blue background and, underneath it, two Saint-Germain 🤑 symbols in white: a fleur de lys and Louis XIV's cradle.[125] Created by Christian Lentretien, former PSG board member and 🤑 publicist by profession, this crest was first used in 1972 and lasted until 1982.[125][126] The Parc des Princes, the club's 🤑 home stadium, appeared below it between 1982 and 1990.[125]
The stadium was dropped from the crest in 1990. Two years later, 🤑 then club owners Canal+ radically changed it in 1992. The new model had the acronym "PSG" in white against a 🤑 blue-white-red-white-blue background (like the colour pattern of the Hechter shirt) with "Paris Saint-Germain" underneath in white against a black background. 🤑 Under pressure from supporters, the traditional crest returned in 1995 with "Paris Saint-Germain" above the tower and "1970" below the 🤑 cradle. This logo went through a slight facelift in 2002, most notably featuring a darker shade of blue.[125]
At the request 🤑 of the club's Qatari owners, the traditional crest underwent a major makeover in 2013.[125] "Paris" is now written in big 🤑 white bold letters above a large Eiffel Tower, clearly putting forward the brand "Paris" instead of "Paris Saint-Germain". Underneath it, 🤑 "Saint-Germain" is written in smaller letters below the fleur de lys.[112][127] The cradle and the club's founding year "1970" were 🤑 left out.[127] PSG deputy general manager Jean-Claude Blanc said: "We are called Paris Saint-Germain but, above all, we are called 🤑 Paris".[112]
Friendly tournaments
Paris Saint-Germain used to host two very famous invitational competitions: the Tournoi de Paris and the Tournoi Indoor de 🤑 Paris-Bercy.[128][129] Regarded as French football's most prestigious friendly tournament, the Tournoi de Paris is considered a precursor of both the 🤑 Intercontinental Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.[128][130] PSG began hosting it in 1975 and were crowned champions a record 🤑 seven times.[128] Held at the Parc des Princes, the Tournoi de Paris was last organized in 2012.[128][131] The Tournoi Indoor 🤑 de Paris-Bercy was an indoor football tournament founded by PSG in 1984 and held annually until 1991 at the AccorHotels 🤑 Arena in the 12th arrondissement of Paris. Played indoors on a synthetic field and featuring seven-a-side teams, the competition featured 🤑 hosts PSG and five more clubs. The Parisians lifted the trophy on two occasions, more than any other club.[129]
Grounds
Stadiums
View of 🤑 the Parc des Princes in October 2024.
Paris Saint-Germain played their first game at their current home stadium, the 47,929-seater Parc 🤑 des Princes, against Ligue 2 promotion rivals Red Star on 10 November 1973.[21][132] It was the curtain-raiser for that season's 🤑 opening Ligue 1 match between Paris FC and Sochaux.[21] PSG moved into the ground upon its return to Ligue 1 🤑 in 1974, ironically the same year that Paris FC were relegated. Up until that point it had been the home 🤑 venue of Paris FC.[9][16]
During their early years, however, PSG played at several grounds including the Stade Municipal Georges Lefèvre, the 🤑 Stade Jean-Bouin, the Stade Bauer, the Stade Yves-du-Manoir, and even the Parc a few times despite the reluctance of Paris 🤑 FC.[133][134] Since PSG's move to the Parc, the pitches of the Stade Georges Lefèvre have hosted training sessions and home 🤑 matches for the club's academy sides.[134][135] The complex is located in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, just across the street from the Camp des 🤑 Loges, the club's former training center.[135][136]
Training facilities
Located in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the Camp des Loges was the club's training ground from 1970 🤑 until 2024.[136][137] The current Camp des Loges, built on the same site as the old one, was inaugurated in November 🤑 2008.[136][138] It was then renamed Ooredoo Training Centre in September 2013 as part of a sponsorship deal with Ooredoo.[136][139]
Campus PSG 🤑 has been the club's training ground and sports complex since June 2024, replacing the Camp des Loges.[136] Owned and financed 🤑 by the club, the venue will bring together PSG's male and female football, handball and judo teams, as well as 🤑 the football and handball academies.[136][140][141] The Camp des Loges now hosts the club's female and academy sides and will continue 🤑 to do so until the summer of 2024.[136][142]
Records and statistics
Paris Saint-Germain holds many records, most notably being the most successful 🤑 French club in history in terms of official titles won, with 48.[1][49][143] They are the record holders of all national 🤑 competitions, having clinched eleven Ligue 1 championships, fourteen Coupe de France, nine Coupe de la Ligue, and eleven Trophée des 🤑 Champions. Their trophy cabinet also includes one Ligue 2 title.[49][144] In international football, PSG have claimed one UEFA Cup Winners' 🤑 Cup and one UEFA Intertoto Cup.[49]
Their victory in the 1995–96 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup makes PSG the sole French side 🤑 to have won this trophy, one of only two French clubs to have won a major European competition, and the 🤑 youngest European team to do so.[46][145] They are also the only side to have won the Ligue 1 title after 🤑 being at the top of the table from the first until the last round (2024–23),[146] the Coupe de France without 🤑 conceding a single goal (1992–93 and 2024–17),[147] five Coupe de la Ligue in a row (2014–2024),[148] four back-to-back Coupe de 🤑 France (2024–2024),[149] and eight consecutive Trophée des Champions (2013–2024).[150]
PSG have won all four national titles in a single season on 🤑 four occasions. This feat is known as the domestic quadruple. The Red and Blues have completed the domestic double, the 🤑 league and league cup double, the domestic cup double, the domestic treble and the league three-peat several times as well. 🤑 Therefore, PSG are the club with the most domestic doubles and league and league cup doubles, one of two sides 🤑 to have achieved the league three-peat twice, and the only team to have won the domestic cup double, the domestic 🤑 treble and the domestic quadruple.[49]
Since their inception, PSG have completed 53 seasons, of which 50 have been played in the 🤑 highest division in French football, known as Ligue 1.[1][151][152][153] In 2024–23, they celebrated their 49th consecutive campaign in Ligue 1, 🤑 which makes them the competitions's longest-serving club.[153][154] PSG have played continuously in Ligue 1 from the 1974–75 season onwards.[153][154] Since 🤑 then, the Parisians have won eleven league titles, finishing first more frequently than in any other position.[153] Having come second 🤑 in nine league campaigns, PSG have therefore made up the top two spots on 20 occasions.[153] They have also reached 🤑 the top five 28 times, which represents more than half of the club's seasons in Ligue 1.[153] PSG's lowest-ever finish 🤑 is 16th, both in 1971–72 (their first in Ligue 1) and 2007–08, when they escaped relegation on the final day 🤑 of the season, with a 2–1 win at Sochaux.[153]
Supporters
Paris Saint-Germain is the most popular football club in France and one 🤑 of the most widely supported teams in the world.[155] Famous PSG fans include Nicolas Sarkozy, Tony Parker, Fabio Quartararo, Patrick 🤑 Dempsey, Victoria Azarenka, Teddy Riner, and DJ Snake.[156]
Lacking a big passionate fanbase, the club began offering cheaper season tickets to 🤑 young supporters in 1976.[109][157][158] These fans were placed in the Kop K, located in the K section of the Borelli 🤑 stand at the Parc des Princes.[158][159] Following an increase in ticket prices, Kop K supporters moved to the Boulogne stand 🤑 in 1978, and the Kop of Boulogne (KoB) was born.[158][160] There, the club's first Italian-style ultra group, Boulogne Boys, was 🤑 founded in 1985.[160] Other KoB groups, however, took British hooligans as dubious role models and violence rapidly escalated.[157] PSG supporters' 🤑 groups have been linked to football hooliganism ever since.[160]
PSG owners Canal+ responded in 1991 by encouraging and financing non-violent fans 🤑 of the KoB stand to take place in the Auteuil stand at the other end of the Parc des Princes. 🤑 The Virage Auteuil was born, alongside Supras Auteuil, its most notorious ultras.[161] At first the measure worked but, slowly, a 🤑 violent rivalry arose between the two stands.[161][162] Things came to a head in 2010 before a match against Olympique de 🤑 Marseille in Paris. Boulogne fan Yann Lorence was killed following a fight between groups from both stands outside the Parc 🤑 des Princes, forcing PSG president Robin Leproux to take action.[163][164]
The club exiled the supporters' groups from the Parc des Princes 🤑 and banned them from all PSG matches in what was known as Plan Leproux.[163][164] It made PSG pay the price 🤑 in terms of atmosphere, with one of Europe's most feared venues now subdued.[162][164] For their part, former Virage Auteuil supporters 🤑 formed the Collectif Ultras Paris (CUP) in February 2024, with the aim of reclaiming their place at the stadium.[165] In 🤑 October 2024, after a six-year absence, the club agreed to their return.[164] Grouped in the Auteuil end of the stadium, 🤑 the CUP currently is the only ultra association officially recognized by PSG.[164][166] The ultra movement has also started to come 🤑 back to life in the Boulogne stand. New groups Block Parisii, Paname Rebirth and Résistance Parisienne are trying to convince 🤑 the club of relaunching the Kop of Boulogne.[167]
Rivalries
Le Classique
Paris Saint-Germain shares an intense rivalry with Olympique de Marseille; matches between 🤑 the two teams are referred to as Le Classique.[168][169] The clubs are the two most successful clubs in French football, 🤑 and the only French teams to have won major European trophies.[168] Therefore, the fixture is the biggest rivalry in France.[170][171]
PSG 🤑 and OM were the dominant teams prior to the emergence of Olympique Lyonnais in the 2000s,[168][172] and are the most 🤑 followed French teams internationally.[155][173] Both clubs are at or near the top of the French attendance lists each season.[172] Their 🤑 meetings during the 1970s gave little indication the two would become major adversaries.[174] The newly formed Parisians were trying to 🤑 assemble a competitive team, while the Olympians were Ligue 1 contenders.[174]
The rivalry began in earnest in 1986 when PSG won 🤑 their first championship and OM was bought by Bernard Tapie.[174] By the end of the decade, PSG was fighting for 🤑 the 1988–89 title against Tapie's Marseille.[39][172] The accusations made by PSG president Francis Borelli against Tapie and OM for fixing 🤑 matches during that season were a contributor to their growing rivalry.[50]
In the 1990s, tensions between the two sides escalated. French 🤑 TV channel Canal+ bought PSG in 1991 with the aim of breaking Marseille's hegemony but then agreed with Tapie to 🤑 emphasize the animosity between them as a way to promote the league.[39][172] With equivalent financial backing, PSG and OM became 🤑 the main contenders in the title race.[175] Both sides were less successful in the late 1990s and the 2000s but 🤑 the rivalry remained strong.[174][175] Since the 2010s, the matchup has been dominated by PSG, and the significant investment of their 🤑 Qatari owners has created a wide gap between the clubs.[175]
Ownership and finances
Paris Saint-Germain were initially fan-owned and had 20,000 members.[1][157] 🤑 The club was run by board members Guy Crescent, Pierre-Étienne Guyot and Henri Patrelle.[8][157] A group of wealthy French businessmen, 🤑 led by Daniel Hechter and Francis Borelli, would then buy the club in 1973.[22] PSG changed hands in 1991, when 🤑 Canal+ took over, and then again in 2006 with the arrival of Colony Capital.[18] Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) have been 🤑 the majority owners of PSG since 2011, currently holding 87.5% of the shares.[176] Arctos Partners owns the remaining 12.5%.[177]
Backed by 🤑 the Qatari government, QSI acquired a majority stake in 2011 and then became the Parisian outfit's sole owner in 2012.[18][176][178] 🤑 PSG are therefore a state-owned club, which makes them one of the wealthiest teams in the world.[51][179][180] In 2024, Arctos 🤑 Partners acquired a minority stake in the Qatar-funded French team.[177] QSI chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi has been PSG president since the 🤑 takeover.[181] However, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, has the final word on every major decision of 🤑 the club.[182] He is both the chairman of the QIA and the founder of QSI.[183]
Upon its arrival, QSI pledged to 🤑 form a team capable of winning the UEFA Champions League.[12] PSG have spent over €1.3bn on player transfers since the 🤑 summer of 2011.[59] These massive expenditures have translated in PSG's domination of French football but have not yet brought home 🤑 the coveted UCL trophy as well as causing problems with UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations.[58][181][184]
As of 2024, PSG have the 🤑 fifth-highest revenue in the footballing world with an annual turnover of €654m according to Deloitte, and are the world's seventh-most 🤑 valuable football club, worthR$4.21bn according to Forbes magazine.[185][186] PSG's strong financial position has been sustained by the club's Qatari owners;[187] 🤑 the team's on-pitch success;[58] high-profile signings, including Zlatan Ibrahimović, Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi;[59] and lucrative sponsorship deals with 🤑 the Qatar Tourism Authority, Nike, Air Jordan, Accor and Qatar Airways.[187][188][189]
Honours
record
Players
Current squad
As of 1 January 2024.[197]
Note: Flags indicate national team 🤑 as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team 🤑 as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Other players under contract
Note: Flags indicate national 🤑 team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Personnel
As of 9 December 2024.[197]
Management
Technical staff
