Paris Saint-Germain and Paris FC faced each other this Monday at the Parc des Princes in the Round of 16 of the 2025–2026 Coupe de France. The match ended in a 1–0 victory for Paris FC. After the game, Ilan Kebbal, the 27-year-old forward for the club based at Stade Jean-Bouin, spoke in the mixed zone. He was notably asked about the possibility of a rivalry between the two Parisian clubs.
Kebbal: “Honestly, they’re too strong.”
“There is no rivalry at all. For now, they are far too strong for us. They are very, very far ahead of us, and even ahead of many teams. I’ve already played against great players and great teams, but honestly, they’re too strong. Today, we won, we had some luck, we’re happy, but the most important thing now is the league match on Sunday against Nantes,” comments reported by CulturePSG.
There is inevitably something special about a derby, especially when there are only 44 meters separating the two stadiums. However, Kebbal’s point — and that of Paris FC — is easy to understand. This is not yet a genuine sporting rivalry. The two projects currently operate on very different scales, even if PSG were undone this time by a lack of efficiency.
Paris FC will first need to secure their place in Ligue 1 to make this fixture a regular occurrence. That continuity could allow a real rivalry to take shape over time, with PFC continuing to grow their project as well. A derby does not require two teams of equal strength to be intense — it first needs to become habitual. And perhaps, eventually, the sporting battle itself will become truly compelling.
