Paris Saint-Germain FC

Paris Saint-Germain FC, French professional football (soccer) club based in Paris and competing in Ligue 1, the topflight French men’s football league. In 2011 Qatar Sports Investments, a Qatari government-operated shareholding organization, bought a majority stake in Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and invested heavily in the club’s development, which led to its dominance in French football. PSG became the first French club to achieve a historic continental treble in 2024–25 by winning the Ligue 1 championship, the French Cup, and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League (Europe’s leading club football competition) title in a single season.

History

The PSG men’s team was founded on August 12, 1970, through the merger of the football clubs Paris FC and Stade Saint-Germain (a club based in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, a western suburb of Paris). The club also launched a regional women’s football team in 1971. In 1972 the franchise created by the merger split again, into PSG and the newly reestablished Paris FC, and PSG was relegated (dropped to a lower tier) from the top division of French football. By 1974 the club had earned promotion back to Ligue 1. Since then, PSG has played its home matches at the Parc des Princes stadium in southwest Paris. A major renovation of the stadium was completed in 2016.

In the 1980s and ’90s PSG began to build a championship legacy. Through the play of standouts such as Algerian left winger Mustapha Dahleb and French defender Jean-Marc Pilorget, PSG claimed its first French Cup (Coupe de France, an annual tournament open to all professional and amateur football clubs in France, including overseas French territories) trophy in 1981–82. They signed Bosnian midfielder Safet Sušić in 1982, and he played a prominent role in helping the club win the 1982–83 French Cup. As of the 2024–25 season the club has won the competition 16 times. PSG won its first Ligue 1 title in 1985–86. In the 1990s Liberian striker George Weah was one of the team’s biggest stars. PSG won a second Ligue 1 title in 1993–94 and its first continental trophy, the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup (now-discontinued tournament among national cup winners across Europe), in 1995–96.

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In the first decade of the 21st century the dynamic playmaking of Brazilian football star Ronaldinho and prolific goal scoring of Portuguese forward Pauleta brought widespread attention to PSG. Highlights for the club during this period included French Cup titles in 2004 and 2006. However, PSG struggled in Ligue 1, finishing near the bottom of the league standings in 2007–08, only narrowly avoiding relegation.

New owners and high-profile success

After buying a controlling stake in 2011, the new Qatari owners began an ambitious plan to revamp the franchise. PSG soon added a number of high-profile players, including Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimović in 2012 and English midfielder David Beckham, Brazilian defender Marquinhos, and Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani in 2013. The signings quickly paid off as PSG won four straight Ligue 1 titles, from the 2012–13 season through 2015–16.

In August 2017 the club signed young French sensation Kylian Mbappé and superstar Brazilian forward Neymar. Together they helped PSG win three consecutive Ligue 1 titles (2017–18, 2018–19, and 2019–20). In 2020 PSG reached the UEFA Champions League final but lost to the German powerhouse club Bayern Munich. PSG added another superstar, Argentine attacker Lionel Messi, to its roster in 2021. The trio of Messi, Neymar, and Mbappé spearheaded a widely celebrated “dream team” and guided PSG to two more Ligue 1 titles, in 2021–22 and 2022–23.

Neymar and Messi left PSG after the 2022–23 season. Mbappé departed after helping PSG secure the 2023–24 Ligue 1 crown. The club continued to thrive, however. Luis Enrique of Spain, who took the reins as PSG head coach in 2023, shifted the club’s focus from a reliance on individual stars to a more team-oriented approach. Led by a core of versatile players, including French midfielder Ousmane Dembélé (signed in 2023) and French prodigy Désiré Doué (2024), PSG won the continental treble in the 2024–25 season and established its place among the top football clubs in Europe. The club lost to the English Premier League club Chelsea FC in the final of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in June and July that year. In August 2025 PSG lifted the UEFA Super Cup, a trophy match between the reigning winners of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

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PSG won multiple awards at the 2025 Ballon d’Or, the ceremony for football’s prestigious annual awards presented by UEFA and the sports magazine France Football. Ousmane Dembélé won the Men’s Ballon d’Or, PSG was named Men’s Team of the Year, Luis Enrique won the Johan Cruyff Coach of the Year award in the men’s category, and Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma took home the Men’s Lev Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper. Additionally, a record nine PSG players had been included in the 30-strong short list of nominees for the Men’s Ballon d’Or.

In the 2025–26 season PSG won both the French league and the UEFA Champions League.

Discover more

• Ousmane Dembélé: Renaissance at PSG
• Lionel Messi: From Barcelona to Paris
• Neymar: PSG Breaks the Bank
• Kylian Mbappé: Coming-of-Age at PSG
• Ligue 1 (French football league)