Paris Saint-Germain returns to the PSG Campus this Wednesday, August 6, to kick off the 2025-2026 season. A very late restart after having played in the Club World Cup until the final on July 13, in addition to all possible matches during the previous season. And they will have to start competing as soon as next Wednesday, with the UEFA Super Cup against Tottenham. Alexandre Marles, former head of performance at Paris, spoke to L’Équipe about the major “challenge” awaiting PSG.
“Imagining that this team will be ready next week against Tottenham or Nantes doesn’t make any sense.”
“It’s a challenge that great European clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona have faced in the past. And it’s inevitably more complicated. First, it’s difficult because they will be reintegrating players who, after a long season, have really decompressed — which is normal — and have lost conditioning.
This means loss of strength, and therefore speed and endurance. Added to this are the flights, time zone changes, and heat. The first challenge will therefore be to establish a medical assessment and fitness levels through precise data, especially body fat percentages.
Imagining that this team will be ready next week against Tottenham or Nantes doesn’t make any sense. Tottenham resumed training several weeks ago, played friendly matches, so it will be very difficult.”
“Players who played less last season will inevitably have a more important role at the start.”
Then, the physical preparation — essential for a season with high ambitions — will take place throughout August. PSG’s objectives come later, so they will use matches as working sessions. With, most likely, a lot of rotation. In the starting eleven, but also with significant changes around the hour mark. Players who had less playing time last season will naturally have a more prominent role at the start.”
We begin with a small correction — perhaps a lack of clarity in the initial statement. But no club has ever faced this exact challenge before. Only Chelsea has come close, after a long Premier League season, winning the UEFA Europa Conference League, and then going on to win the Club World Cup.
However, that was the first edition of this competition, which involves the entire squad. In contrast, international tournaments (Euro, World Cup, Copa America) involve only part of the squad, often a small portion that goes all the way to the final. This requires adjustments, but still leaves a part of the group available for preseason.
This time, everyone is starting “late.” And on top of that, there’s the UEFA Super Cup before the start of Ligue 1. These are challenges to overcome. Coach Luis Enrique didn’t forget to express his satisfaction, because it means Paris had a fantastic season.
Now it’s about adapting. There was hope that new signings would be ready for the return, but it seems we’ll have to wait a bit longer. Still, it’s clear that PSG won’t be at their peak right away. That said, they’ve already shown they can dig deep when needed. Luis Enrique and his staff have also achieved impressive results when it comes to physical preparation.
So let’s not write PSG off in August. We can expect them to build momentum gradually over the months. And let’s not forget that they had a shorter break than some others. It’ll also be important to monitor the potential workload across the entire season.
