Paris Saint-Germain has been exerting effort to bring the world's top soccer superstars into the club by strengthening the squad, letting go of its best assets, or trading them out as leverage for balancing Financial Fair Play books. It seems the big spend philosophy-Think Neymar, Messi, Mbappé, etc.-has always ruled the leading trend in this club. Then came Luis Enrique in 2023, and the club has simply overturned this policy. Not only the superstars signing is included but also investing in the youth and above all creating the identity, style of play which reflects into their youth teams also.
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Change of mentality at PSG
It's no secret that, since July 2023, with Luis Enrique at the helm, PSG has been introducing changes. From this summer, when it was crystal clear after several years of apparent intent to balance Financial Fair Play with big-money transfers, the idea is now about constructing an identity with firm grounding via work in the young talents.
Until then, the hitherto neglected youth development system began to be refashioned with the unveiling of a new training centre in Poissy. The new building represents not only concrete and steel but the dream of PSG to be able to become a club more reliant on developing internal talent.
Influence of Barcelona
Indeed, this change likely had one overriding inspiration: Barcelona's highly successful model at La Masía, according to Le Parisien. The idea is straightforward: develop young players in the same style and system the first team play in, and theoretically at least, a rise into professional soccer becomes all so easier to handle for them. Already on-site, those young athletes learned the ways on the field to conduct themselves, unimportantly about age and experience.
Knowing this model well from his Barcelona days, Luis Enrique has brought this philosophy to the Parc des Princes. Aware that it will take several years-and plenty of patience-to get such a system in place right from the youngest of age groups up, that's exactly what he is endeavoring to put in place.
Revolution of PSG youth system
With a new training center and with the most La Masía-inspired philosophy, PSG started integrating youngsters into the first team much more often. It is a gradual process, but we are already starting to see the first results: during the last months, some youngsters like Zaïre-Emery, Mayulu, Mbaye, and El Hannach had the chance to wear the PSG jersey in the senior team. This allows players to come through and shine, even under the pressure of being in one of the richest and most competitive clubs in the world-a practice not as common in previous years.
Moreover, the presence of Yohan Cabaye as the head of the training center has been fundamental in ensuring that the best young talents from Île-de-France get a real chance with the club. Cabaye, the former PSG player now in charge of the academy, has worked tirelessly to help integrate these youth players into the first team and develop them within the playing system Luis Enrique has been implementing.
The youth academy of PSG, constructed through a 300 million euro investment in Poissy, stands as the crown jewel on which the club is building its future. This academy, besides hosting state-of-the-art, high-level training, is a place where an identity is being built, and it's much more than playing good, playing the way PSG wants to be known.
And it has been very palpable that, for this season, even U-19 and U-17 teams are on the same playing system Luis Enrique applies to the seniors, which ultimately proves PSG is going the right way. What once was a club of big-name signings and reliance on international stars has now started reinventing itself, putting much focus on the local talent at hand while fostering its base with a certain style of play that should be the backbone of PSG for decades to come.
The shift and the promising future
For much of its recent history, PSG has been more known for signing established superstars than for trusting in their youth talent. This change in philosophy now promises big long-term dividends. The club is starting to right the wrongs of the past, and perhaps this new approach to the youth system will prove to be the key for solidifying its place in the market as well as on the field with a squad that goes beyond just big names.
The next few years will be important for PSG. From having an identifiable playing identity through the various teams, with promising youngsters already playing their part in the first team and a modern structure to keep improving them, PSG is finally on its way to becoming one of those clubs that-along with signing stars-know how to develop their own as well.