With the UEFA Champions League back this week, Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain could face potential problems. Luis Enrique's side will first have to overcome a formidable Real Sociedad side who top Group D ahead of RB Salzburg, Benfica and Inter Milan. There is no doubt that the La Liga side wants nothing more than to cause more embarrassment for PSG.
Although Paris Saint-Germain have spent 11 on transfer fees over the past 11 years300 million euros, but they have only reached the final of the Champions League once. And, more worryingly, the Ligue 1 giants have failed to make it past the last 16 of the Champions League five times in the last 11 seasons. If Real Sociedad knock them out in the coming weeks, it will be further proof that the club's transfer pattern in terms of big-spending star players has not led to success on the European stage so far.
However, the situation for both clubs could be even more difficult to accept if PSG lose. While PSG have chosen to spend money to succeed in the Champions League, their Spanish rivals have opted to rely on their own academy players. As such, Real Sociedad can claim that 13 players in their squad are from their own academy. In contrast, PSG's record in this regard is the second-worst in the Champions League, with just three players from their own academy.
Paris Saint-Germain have a terrible record in developing academy players
In a sense, many French football fans and observers may be frustrated to see 'titis' (the nickname for Paris Saint-Germain's academy players) shine at other clubs, while the PSG first team has never been given the right opportunity," said Ronan Karoff, the transfer market's France regional manager, when asked about the lack of academy players in the PSG first team. 'Of course, the annual realignment of the squad, accompanied by a significant investment of money, tends to tend to prioritise first-team players over homegrown prospects. Very few Academy products have been able to settle down in the first team. 'In the current squad, only Presnell Kimpembe, Ethan Mbappe and Warren Zaire-Emery have made their way into the first team after emerging from the club's youth system. "It really takes the perfect combination of talent and positional opportunity," Karoff noted. 'Logically, young players want more playing time and PSG won't turn down a move because they know they can't afford to give them that opportunity anytime soon. ”
However, what makes PSG unique among other clubs in Europe is that while they don't have many former Academy graduates in their first team, many of Europe's top clubs can now claim to have exceptional talent that did start their careers in Paris. In fact, when we counted every former PSG academy graduate across Europe and formed the most valuable starting line-up, the team was worth a staggering 47.7 billion euros. The most worrying thing for the Ligue 1 giants is that they have allowed these 11 players to leave the club for a total transfer fee of just €62 million. And that's without taking into account the high-profile Xavi Simons, who is currently on loan at RB Leipzig and is widely expected to leave PSG next season.
Naturally, thanks to the club's ownership of Qatar Sporting Investments, a Qatar-backed investment, PSG have been able to more or less mitigate this oversight, signing the best players in the world every season. But, as the club's record in the Champions League shows, signing ready-made star players can only take the club a step further. "One potential setback that could emerge could stem more from the fact that even though it has been more than 10 years since Qatar bought the club, PSG still doesn't have a more sustainable long-term model," Karoff added. "A model that allows you to accept big transfers and have more Academy players in the first team. Now we can count dozens of 'titis' who are currently enjoying decent careers and who have not been given the full chance to play in the first team of Paris Saint-Germain. ”
Could PSG's talent belt be disrupted?
Changing the club's policy to give young players more time to play in the first team could be more appealing to the club's fans and work well in theory. However, there are growing concerns that PSG's recent changes to the way their youth teams operate have led to a decline in the number of talented young players. In 2019, then-sporting director Antero Enrique decided to withdraw PSG's reserve squad from the fourth tier of French football. This means that the club's Academy players no longer have the opportunity to play in the first team unless they are transferred directly to the first team. 'Now, when you reach 19 and are not yet part of the first team, you are almost automatically forced to leave,' Karov said when asked about the decision to cancel the reserves. 'Before, these players were more likely to be noticed for their performances and have more time to develop, but now it's more of a gamble to judge whether an Under-19 player can be solid enough to play in the first league. ”
In other words, smaller clubs are likely to use PSG's reserves as a criterion for judging their club's youth potential and opt to sign these players. Now that the team no longer exists, PSG's young stars can no longer showcase their talent in the French top flight. As a result, these players must join clubs in the lower divisions to take their first steps in professional football, and only three players who have left PSG since 2019 have ever earned a market value of more than €10 million at other clubs: Rennes striker Arnault Kalimendo (€20 million), RB Leipzig defender Elchadil Bitsiabu (€15 million) and Burnley's winger Wilson Odobet (€15 million). There is little indication that the once-prestigious academy is still capable of developing players for PSG's first team.