Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, president of Paris Saint-Germain, received the Best President award on the sidelines of the Golden Boy awards ceremony on Monday evening. In remarks reported by Tuttosport, he took the opportunity to clearly outline the club’s future plan. Unsurprisingly, young players are being given pride of place.
Al-Khelaïfi: “The future of Paris Saint-Germain will be born and built here; it cannot be bought.”
“We want to develop good players, but also well-educated players, imbued with the values of PSG. And today, you see the result: an extraordinary sports complex, combined with a true learning environment. The future of Paris Saint-Germain will be born and built here; it cannot be bought. It will be ‘Made in Paris’ for Paris. I have said that the true star of Paris Saint-Germain is the team, both on and off the pitch.” When we work together, this is the result.
Al-Khelaïfi “with the group, by developing our young players”
“Our philosophy must be to win collectively, with the group, by developing our young players, thanks in particular to the best coach in the world, Luis Enrique. We want to have the best players in the world, our young players, develop our youth teams and thus guarantee the future of the club, not just today’s results, which are certainly important, but also and above all the future of the club. And that’s why I truly appreciate this distinction.”
This is a strong statement, which confirms the idea that has been stated since the arrival of coach Luis Enrique in 2023. PSG has changed its approach somewhat, in player management, the transfer market, and communication. Unfortunately, some have managed to mix everything up, and Paris is now abandoning promising signings in the transfer market in order to focus solely on young players.
Yet, there have been some excellent deals in the transfer market. Simply put, it’s no longer about acquiring a star player from another club by paying exorbitant sums. Recruitment is primarily focused on sporting merit, without forcing the issue and always ensuring the player integrates seamlessly into the team. Changing the playing style for a single player is no longer an option. There are, of course, minor adjustments to suit different player profiles. But the philosophy is clear. And it’s a collective one.
All this while leaving room for PSG’s youth academy, supported by a top-level training center that fosters interaction between different age groups. Let’s hope this bears fruit, as it has already started well with several young talents frequently featured this season (Warren Zaïre-Emery, Senny Mayulu, Ibrahim Mbaye, and Quentin Ndjantou). Even so, they still need to establish themselves further, and we hope to see other academy graduates carve out their own niches over the years.
