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In 2011, Qatari sheikhs bought PSG and immediately set their sights on winning the Champions League. In 14 years, Paris has only reached the final once and is best remembered for its humiliating exit in the round of 16.
To win, they bought everything that shined: Neymar, Edinson Cavani, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Beckham, Kylian Mbappe, Di Maria and others. We even tried the cheat codes, but even Lionel Messi didn't help.
The 2021 Dream Team with Messi, Neymar and Mbappe was considered one of the main contenders for the Champions League and failed miserably. PSG is now unrecognizable: the team is led by young stars, and they are considered favorites not because of their composition, but because of their play.
Where were they in 2021 when PSG was betting on Messi? Everyone knew about Gianluigi Donnarumma and Ousmane Dembele, and the others.
He stormed into PSG in the winter and had almost no time to adapt. Why, if he does what he loves: gathering opponents around him and dribbling or passing the ball out of tight spaces?
Khvicha replaced Kylian Mbappe on the left wing and sparked the competition. Bradley Barcola immediately got involved, with Desiree Douai also advancing nearby.
In 2021, the young Georgian was just getting used to Kazan. So, how did he settle in? Khvicha rented an apartment only when relatives came, but he himself lived at the base all the time, it was cheaper and more convenient. He sent most of his salary home, and in Russia he ate khinkali, fast food, and chak-chak.
"He and Zurik (Davitashvili) lived on the base and always ordered food from McDonald's at two in the morning. I don't mind. But the people on the base were shocked," Leonid Slutsky recalls.
In early April, Khvicha destroyed Aston Villa with a brilliant goal in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. And in 2021, he made his debut in European competitions. It was a complete humiliation: Rubin was knocked out by the modest Polish Rakuw, and Kvara appeared only at key points because the letters of his surname were cut off.
Back then, the Georgian winger was being pursued by serious clubs: they wrote about Juventus, Galatasaray, Monaco, Borussia and others.
The 2024/25 season is Dua's first in Paris. And 3+2 in the Champions League at once, including a brilliant goal against Aston Villa.
Sorry, Khvicha, but 19-year-old Desiree is the most technical player in PSG's attack. He's also the youngest and the most versatile: he can play on the right and left, play as a false nine and play in the center of midfield.
In 2021, you probably didn't hear anything about Desiree. He was only 16 years old and hadn't even played for Rennes' reserves yet. It wasn't until 2022 that he was promoted to the first team and called up to the youth team. There, he first won the European Under-17 Championship and then won Olympic silver with Thierry Henry.
Douay joined Rennes at the age of 6. His older brother played in the academy, while little Desiree was a master of kicking the ball on the pitch. The coaches admired his technique and helped him follow his brother's example: after just a few months, he was no longer lost among the ten-year-olds.
Desiree almost gave up on football when he was moved to defense. But over time, he became more obedient. "If you tell him to dribble and he's sure it's going to work, Douyen will do it. "He understands the risks," said his first coach, Florian Boursier.
Rennes quickly saw Douai as a club talent on par with Eduardo Camavinga and Ousmane Dembele, so they signed him to a professional contract at just 16. PSG soon paid €50 million for the youngster, and Désiré became the first player born in 2005 to score in Europe's top 5 leagues.
In the 2024/25 Champions League, Bradley is shooting in a row: in the play-off matches against Manchester City, Stuttgart and Brest, he scored 1+1.
It's not easy to keep up with him and follow him: it's not for nothing that he was nicknamed the Grasshopper as a child. Thanks to his sharpness and speed, Barcola has developed the ability to open up at the back and take his lines to an elite level. A special bond with Dembele: this season alone, Bradley has scored several goals for him into empty nets.
Barcola waited until November 2021 to make his senior debut, when Peter Bosz gave him 9 minutes in a Europa League match against Spartak Moscow. His Ligue 1 debut would not be until February 2022, with his first start until May.
Bradley joined Lyon at the age of 9. It helped that the club's academy was nearby, so there was no need to move. His family encouraged his passion for football, and his older brother Malcolm was already established at the academy. Barcola Jr. was inspired by the path of Samuel Umtiti, Corentin Tolisso and Alexandre Lacazette, who all broke through to the top flight from Lyon. Bradley couldn't do it for a long time: he wanted more game time, refused to play in the reserves and threatened to go on loan. Luckily, at that moment the club had a falling out with the emotional Toko Ekambi, and a place in the attack became available. Barcola only became a regular in the starting line-up in the summer of 2023, and... six months later he left for PSG for €45 million. Oh, the fans were furious, but Lyon could do nothing. Financial problems forced them to accept the offer, especially since Barcola himself had already left for Paris.
It was only this season that Warren's rapid progress was slightly slowed by injury. Fabian Ruiz now plays more often, but Zaire-Emery is adapting to Luis Enrique's demands: while he used to like to carry the ball over long distances, he is now comfortable in football with tons of passing.
"An amazing player. He is young, but he does everything well, both in attack and defense. Even at his age, he is an example for many who dream of a professional career," the head coach praised.
It's true that Zaire-Emery is far from Enrique's discovery. Mauricio Pochettino has also invited the 15-year-old to train alongside Messi with the first team. "I come to train in the morning, I don't have any rest in the afternoon. I go straight to school," Zaire-Emery described his day.
The junior continued to progress under Christophe Galtier, who was convinced by the description of Yoann Cabaye, who worked at the academy:
Zaire-Emery has been at PSG since childhood. His father, who was a football coach and dragged his sons to games, helped him make the decision. Warren's grandmother had a big influence on him. She lived near the PSG academy and always accompanied her grandson to training.
It is now impossible to imagine PSG without the Ecuadorian defender. Pacho is literally the team's leader in minutes on the pitch. An incredible progression considering that he will only be available in Paris in the summer of 2024.
Willian is strong, reliable and does not fail in his passes: he looks limited against other PSG stars, but sometimes makes excellent passes into Barcol's runs. Pacho has literally always been famous for his physique: already at the age of 12 he grew to 170 cm. At that time, children's coaches offered him to play in the under-14 and under-16 teams, but Willian did not want to jump and relied on gradual development.
As a little boy, Pacho watched his older brother kick the ball with his friends. Then I watched the Ecuadorian national team matches with him, and that's when my love for football came. For the sake of showing off in clubs, Willian fled his native Kininde: his mother did not allow him to go to other cities at night, and his sister would pick him up at the train station and take him off the plane.
As a result, Pacho ended up at the Huracan school. Club president Rolando Cedeño described him as: "Very educated, disciplined and punctual. He went to bed early and was already watching his diet at the age of 12. He dreamed of becoming a professional."