History of Paris Saint-Germain F.C.

In the summer of 1970, an ambitious group of businessmen decided to create a major team in the French capital.[1][2] Guy Crescent and Pierre-Étienne Guyot chose to merge their virtual side, Paris Football Club (PFC), with Stade Saint-Germain of Henri Patrelle after the team from Saint-Germain-en-Laye, 15km west of Paris, won promotion to Ligue 2.[2][3] PFC was created in 1969, while Stade Saint-Germain was founded in 1904.[1]

Real Madrid played a big role in the foundation of Paris Saint-Germain. Developing football in Paris was a great ambition in 1969, since the City of Lights didn't have an elite football team.[16] PSG's future board of directors Crescent, Guyot and Patrelle were stuck with a problem related to the financing of the project until they met Real Madrid president Santiago Bernabéu.[16][17] Bernabéu told them that starting a crowdfunding campaign was the best solution to establish a new team.[16] After a petition was signed by 20,000 people, the merger went through and Paris Saint-Germain Football Club were formed on 17 June 1970.[2][8][18] For the first time in French football history, the fans had financially contributed in the making of a football club.[16]

Guy Crescent founded Paris Saint-Germain on 12 August 1970, alongside Pierre-Étienne Guyot and Henri Patrelle.

The merger was made official following the creation of the Association Paris Saint-Germain Football, Association loi 1901 on 12 August 1970.[18][19] PSG retains this day as their foundation date, despite the club playing its first match ever earlier that month; it was a friendly against Quevilly (3–1 defeat) on 1 August.[1][20] The French Football Federation ratified the merger on 27 August.[2][8] The PFC Association contributed with the financial backing, while Stade Saint-Germain provided their Division 2 status, Camp des Loges training centre, coach Pierre Phelipon and star players Bernard Guignedoux, Michel Prost and Camille Choquier. Red, blue and white were adopted as the traditional colours of PSG.[4] The red and blue represent the city of Paris, while the white is a symbol of French royalty and stands for the nearby royal town of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the birthplace of French King Louis XIV.[1][4]

The new capital club built a substantial fanbase thanks to the merger and benefited hugely from an improved squad.[2][21] PSG, however, strengthened its squad with the signing of France's national team captain Jean Djorkaeff, the club's first star.[21][22] Paris played their first official game on August 23, 1970. It was away to Poitiers and Bernard Guignedoux scored the club's first ever goal through a free-kick (1–1).[23] Led by Djorkaeff, the club won promotion to Division 1 and claimed the 1970–71 French Division 2 title in its first season.[2][7]

The 1971–72 French Division 1 campaign would be less illustrious.[4] Paris Saint-Germain ended its inaugural season in the top flight with a safe 16th place, meaning they would continue in Division 1 next year, but the club was in a delicate financial situation.[4][24] The Paris City Council offered 850,000 francs to pay the club's debt and save its place in Division 1 but in return demanded the club to adopt the more Parisian name of "Paris Football Club."[4]

PSG president Henri Patrelle refused the name change and financial support was withdrawn.[4][21] This forced the club to split on 20 June 1972.[25][26] A faction of directors, led by Guy Crescent and Pierre-Étienne Guyot, who backed the local authorities re-formed Paris FC.[3][21] The latter remained in Division 1 and at Parc des Princes, while the Paris Saint-Germain of Patrelle kept their name but assumed amateur status and were administratively relegated to Division 3.[4][5]

Bound by professional contracts with Paris FC, most of the club's stars, including team captain Jean Djorkaeff and Bernard Guignedoux, continued playing in Division 1.[4][23] As a result, PSG began life in Division 3 with a young but talented squad that would star in the club's forthcoming back-to-back promotions.[4][26] Some of these gifted youngsters included Christian André, Éric Renaut, Othniel Dossevi, Michel Marella and Jacques Laposte.[27][28] Paris would finish second in Group West of the 1972–73 French Division 3, six points behind Quevilly, missing out on promotion by little.[4] Fortunately, Quevilly had to dissolve due to financial problems shortly after the end of the season and PSG took their place in Division 2 by default.[21]

PSG really took flight when fashion designer Daniel Hechter took over.[1] Shortly before the start of the 1973–74 campaign, he replaced Henri Patrelle as president and named Francis Borelli as vice-president.[17][29] Besides offering his financial support to the club, Hechter also designed PSG's classic home outfit.[17][24] He then shocked the national game as he appointed French legend Just Fontaine as coach and signed several prestigious players like Jean-Pierre Dogliani, Jean Deloffre, and Louis Cardiet.[4][21]

Just Fontaine took PSG back to Ligue 1 in 1974.

The Parisians finished second in Group B of the 1973–74 French Division 2, four points behind Red Star, qualifying for the Ligue 1 playoffs against Valenciennes. The winner of this double-legged match would be promoted to the top flight. Valenciennes won 2–1 at home, but PSG recorded an incredible 4–2 comeback in the second game, thus winning promotion to the 1974–75 French Division 1 and regaining its professional status abandoned two years earlier.[4][30] Overwhelmed by emotion, Fontaine collapsed on the lawn, victim of a heart attack. Fortunately, he recovered and was carried by the players in celebration.[30][31] Since then, PSG have always played in the first tier of French football.[30]

Ironically, Paris FC were relegated to Ligue 2 that same year and Paris Saint-Germain moved into the Parc des Princes, which up until that point had been the home stadium of PFC.[4][26] Before that, PSG had been playing at several grounds including the Stade Municipal Georges Lefèvre, the Stade Jean-Bouin, the Stade Bauer, and even the Parc des Princes a few times that season despite the reluctance of PFC.[29][32] Indeed, PSG played their first game at Parc des Princes against Red Star on 10 November 1973, as a curtain-raiser for that season's opening Ligue 1 match between Paris FC and Sochaux. PSG won 3–1 as Othniel Dossevi scored the club's first goal at the stadium.[33]

PSG's tradition of brilliant Coupe de France runs also started in the 1973–74 edition. The Parisians reached the quarterfinals after beating Metz at Parc des Princes in front of 25,000 spectators, before being ousted by Reims.[29] Though failing to challenge for the domestic title in the 1970s, the club narrowly bowed out in the semifinals of the 1974–75 Coupe de France to Lens and slowly began attracting several stars.[4][21] The first of them was Mustapha Dahleb, who signed from Sedan for 1.3 million francs in 1974, a then French transfer record.[21] Up next was Carlos Bianchi in June 1977. The Argentine striker, who scored 37 goals in 38 matches in his first season, was the last big signing of Daniel Hechter.[4]

In January 1978, Hechter was banned for life from football by the French Football Federation for running a corruption scheme involving ticket sales at Parc des Princes.[17][29] In his final match at the stadium as club president, PSG beat Olympique de Marseille 5–1 as Mustapha Dahleb offered him the match ball after the final whistle. Hechter was then carried in triumph by the players while the whole stadium chanted his name.[29] Francis Borelli, who had been vice-president until then, became the new boss of the Île-de-France club.[4][29]

Despite the departure of Daniel Hechter, the stars kept coming to Parc des Princes under the 13-year tenure of Francis Borelli.[4][34] Dominique Bathenay left Saint-Étienne for the capital in 1978, followed by «The Green Angel», Dominique Rocheteau, two years later.[21] Led by coach Georges Peyroche since 1979, the Parisians established themselves as a top-half team in Ligue 1 and reached their first Coupe de France final in the 1981–82 edition.[24][34] There were nearly 150,000 requests for only 46,160 seats available at Parc des Princes to see PSG go up against the great Saint-Étienne of Michel Platini, who was playing his last match in France before leaving for Juventus.[31][33]

Nabatingue Toko opened the scoring for PSG in the 58th minute following a good cross from Ivica Šurjak. However, Saint-Étienne reacted and Platini equalized in the 78th minute to send the game to extra-time. Platini then doubled his personal account, giving the Greens the lead in the 99th minute.[31][35] Parc des Princes no longer believed in their team when Rocheteau, after yet another assist from Šurjak, scored an unexpected equalizer against his former team in the last seconds of the match.[31][33]

Dominique Rocheteau scored one of the club's most iconic goals ever.

PSG fans then invaded the field in joy, while their president, Francis Borelli, famously kneeled and kissed the lawn of Parc des Princes.[31][35] After 30 minutes of interruption, the penalty shootout sealed PSG's coronation.[33][35] Parisian goalkeeper Dominique Baratelli stopped Saint-Étienne's last attempt and Jean-Marc Pilorget scored the winning penalty for PSG.[31][35] Barely 12 years after their foundation, Paris Saint-Germain had won their first major title in their home stadium.[33][35]

This success opened PSG the doors to Europe for the first time in their history.[7] It was also a first for a Parisian club since the 1960s, when Racing Paris and Stade Français participated in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.[36] PSG made their European debut in a 1982–83 European Cup Winners' Cup first round tie against Lokomotiv Sofia in Bulgaria.[37] They lost 1–0 in Sofia, but played champagne football at home to win 5–1 with Nabatingue Toko scoring a superb half volley that sealed PSG's qualification to the quarterfinals.[36]

Waterschei appeared to be the perfect draw as PSG avoided top teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Inter Milan.[38] The first leg against the Belgian Cup winners was played in Paris.[37] This match was PSG's first major European meeting, reflected in the 49,575 spectators at Parc des Princes, the club's all-time attendance record.[38] PSG largely dominated and won 2–0 in a great match from Luis Fernández. The score could have been larger though, a fact the Parisians would regret.[37] In the return leg, PSG lost 3–0 after extra time and were knocked out from the competition in a very tense and controversial match that saw the capital side finish with nine men.[38] Paris would have to wait until 1993 to reach a European quarterfinal again.[37]

Paris SG repeated the feat in the 1982–83 Coupe de France, this time against Nantes.[21][39] Recently crowned French champions, the Canaries were headed for the league-cup double, leading 1–2 at the break. However, PSG's star signing of the summer, Safet Sušić, equalized in the second half, before assisting Toko for the winning goal.[34][39] Once again, PSG had qualified for the 1982–83 European Cup Winners' Cup, where the club faced a big European club for the first time in the form of the Juventus of Michel Platini.[37] It would be the first of several memorable games against the Italian team.[7][37] PSG rose to the occasion, drawing both matches and only bowing out on away goal rule despite being really close to winning the tie in Italy.[37]

The capital side then reached the 1984–85 Coupe de France final, its third in four years.[4] This time, however, the Parisians lost to Monaco after an already difficult season which saw them finish the league in 13th place.[4][34] They were also shocked by surprise finalists Videoton in the second round of the 1984–85 UEFA Cup. PSG lost both matches, the first of them a blushing 4–2 defeat at Parc des Princes.[40] It was a little over a year after the cup loss to the principality side that Paris conquered France.[21] Under the guidance of Gérard Houllier, who had replaced Georges Peyroche as team coach at the start of the season, PSG were crowned 1985–86 French Division 1 champions for the first time in their history.[24][34] Led by Sušić, Joël Bats, Luis Fernández and Dominique Rocheteau, the Red and Blues dominated the championship from start to finish, going a memorable 26 matches without defeat towards the title.[4][34]

The follow-up to the league title wasn't as glorious though.[34] PSG finished seventh in the 1986–87 French Division 1 and their first UEFA Champions League appearance that season was a complete failure. They were knocked out by minnows Vítkovice in the first round of the 1986–87 European Cup.[34][41] A year later, the club avoided relegation from the 1987–88 French Division 1 on the final match after a 4–1 win over Lens at Parc des Princes.[34] PSG then briefly bounced back, fighting for the 1988–89 French Division 1 title with Olympique de Marseille.[42] In May 1989, the two sides met for the title decider at Stade Vélodrome in a match that would set the tone for the years that followed.[42][43]

PSG president Francis Borelli and his Marseille counterpart Bernard Tapie cranked up the temperature by exchanging provocations before the game.[43] The championship looked to be heading to Paris with the score tied at 0–0 and only a few seconds remaining.[42] Played out amid a tense, frenzied atmosphere, the match was settled in the 90th minute when Franck Sauzée drilled a shot past PSG goalkeeper Joël Bats from 25 yards, effectively sealing OM's first title in 17 years.[43]

PSG quickly returned to their disappointing trend though, with below par results in the league as well as another European elimination to Juventus in the 1989–90 UEFA Cup despite a close tie.[44] Between 1984 and 1989, the club's budget also skyrocketed to compete with Racing Paris for recognition as the capital's top team.[8][24] As a result, PSG's debts kept rising and, eventually, the club went into decline.[8] In April 1991, after yet another defeat, PSG supporters demanded the resignation of Francis Borelli. The club was in great danger of bankruptcy as well and poor results had translated into low attendance levels.[4][34] A month later, Borelli accepted to sell the club to French television giants Canal+.[34][45]

George Weah after scoring for PSG away to Napoli in the 1992–93 UEFA Cup.

The takeover by French TV channel Canal+ revitalised Paris Saint-Germain, whose 40% of its income came from televised games, allowing them to become one of the richest clubs in France.[8][17] They wiped out PSG's huge 50 million francs debt and appointed Michel Denisot, journalist on the channel, as club president in place of Francis Borelli.[17][46] Now enjoying serious investment, PSG were able to set their sights steadily higher: they had to qualify for European competitions in their first season and become French champions within three years.[9][46]

In consequence, Canal+ increased the club's budget from 90 to 120 million francs in order to build a strong squad for the 1991–92 season.[4][46] The revolution began with the appointment of renowned coach Artur Jorge, famous for leading Porto to the 1986–87 European Cup trophy, and the departure of eleven players including PSG legend Safet Sušić. The club then embarked on a spending spree, signing Brazilian stars Ricardo and Valdo as well as proven French players Paul Le Guen, Laurent Fournier and Patrick Colleter.[46]

Despite criticism over Artur Jorge's solid but unpleasant playing style, PSG managed to attain the objectives in his first season in charge, reviving the enthusiasm among Parisian fans and average attendance soaring to more than 25,000 spectators at Parc des Princes.[46] Paris finished third in the 1991–92 French Division 1 and qualified for the 1992–93 UEFA Cup, reaching a European semifinal for the first time in its history.[46][47] After an easy first round against PAOK, PSG defeated Napoli and Anderlecht — two resounding European names but whose best days had already passed — and qualified for the quarterfinals where they were paired with the great Real Madrid.[48][49]

The Parisians fell to a 3–1 defeat in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, seriously complicating their chances of qualification. PSG learned their lesson, though, and managed the club's biggest comeback in the second leg. They were 3–0 up in added time with goals from George Weah, David Ginola and Valdo, when the Spanish side pulled one back, momentarily forcing extra time. Paris were given a free kick near Real's area in the final seconds of regular time and Antoine Kombouaré, just like against Anderlecht in the previous round, rose higher than anyone else to send his team to the semifinals with a fantastic header that made him a club legend. PSG supporters nicknamed him "Gold Helmet" after this goal.[48][49] Unfortunately, PSG's fairy tale was cut short by their bête noire, Juventus, in the last four.[9]

In France, the capital club defeated the Nantes of future Parisian players Claude Makélélé and Patrice Loko in the final to claim the 1992–93 Coupe de France, its third title overall, without conceding a single goal throughout the entire competition, a record only matched by PSG itself in the 2016–17 Coupe de France.[46][50] Coincidentally, the 3–0 rout over Nantes came almost exactly ten years after their last French Cup win in 1983 and against the same team.[51] It was the first title of the Canal+ era as well as PSG's first since 1986.[46][51]

PSG pipped l'OM to the 2006 and 2016 French Cup titles.

The 1992–93 season also marked the beginning of Le Classique, the rivalry between Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille, as both teams battled each other on the field for the 1992–93 French Division 1 crown.[46] PSG finished runners-up after losing both games against Marseille.[42][43]

The first match, played at Parc des Princes on 18 December 1992, was so brutal that earned itself the nickname "The Butchery of 1992."[43] It was on this day that the French clásico was born. PSG coach Artur Jorge announced his side would crush Marseille, while Parisian player David Ginola promised war upon them. To motivate his players, l'OM president Bernard Tapie stuck the newspaper articles with PSG's provocations in the dressing room.[42][46] Marseille would not disappoint him, walking away with the victory thanks to a strike from Alen Bokšić in what was an extremely violent match with more than 50 fouls.[46][52]

In the second match, only three days after winning the 1992–93 UEFA Champions League, league leaders Marseille welcomed closest challengers PSG in a match that would determine the title.[42][53] l'OM quickly fell behind, only to hit back with three goals, including one of the fixture's best goals: a team effort finished by an 18-yard header from Basile Boli.[42] This would have been Marseille's fifth consecutive championship. Shortly after, however, Tapie and l'OM were found guilty of match-fixing in what became known as the French football bribery scandal.[54][55]

The French Football Federation stripped l'OM of their title and offered it to second-placed PSG, who refused it because club owners Canal+ thought that claiming the trophy would anger their subscribers back in Marseille.[53][56] As a result, the 1992–93 title remains unattributed. Canal+ even refused letting the capital club participate in next year's Champions League after UEFA excluded l'OM from the competition. Third-placed Monaco took the spot instead.[56] l'OM were then forcibly relegated to Ligue 2 in 1994 for lacking the necessary funds to continue among the elite.[54][57] Marseille and their fans have since accused PSG of plotting against them to become the new kings of French football.[58][59]

That defeat notwithstanding, the club were on the move and between 1993 and 1997 they contested two UEFA Cup Winners' Cup finals (in 1996 and 1997), reached the UEFA Champions League semi-finals once and twice advanced to the same stage of the UEFA Cup.[1][7][9]

Despite finishing third in the championship, the 1994–95 season was still a success for Paris Saint-Germain. They reached their first UEFA Champions League semi-finals and, above all, clinched both the Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue titles for their maiden domestic cup double, granting them access to the 1995–96 edition of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, a competition which had already seen Paris rise to the semi-finals in 1994.[60]

PSG's crowning glory came with triumph in the 1996 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final, Bruno N'Gotty hitting the only goal as Rapid Wien were defeated 1–0. A year later, the Parisians finished runners-up to Barcelona in the same competition.[2] On the domestic scene, results were just as satisfying, with PSG celebrating another Ligue 1 title, three French Cups, two French League Cups and just as many French Trophy of Champions wins.[7][9]

At the time, the players lighting up Parc des Princes were also mainstays of their national sides. Bernard Lama, Alain Roche, Paul Le Guen, Vincent Guérin, David Ginola and Youri Djorkaeff all enjoyed stints with France, while Ricardo, Valdo, Raí and Leonardo were regulars for Brazil. But perhaps the greatest talent of all was prolific Liberian marksman George Weah, who followed in the footsteps of PSG's many fine strikers by firing 55 goals in 137 games.[9]

Paris Saint-Germain were transformed into a top team in 2011, when the club was purchased by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) after two years of solid progress and stability under the stewardship of manager Antoine Kombouaré and president Robin Leproux.[7][8] The takeover made PSG not only the richest club in France but one of the wealthiest in the world.[11] QSI and new club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi pledged to form a team capable of winning the UEFA Champions League and making the club France's biggest name.[7][61]

PSG returned to the UEFA Champions League in 2012–13.

Club legend Leonardo was brought back in a sporting director capacity and oversaw a spending spree in summer 2011 that has so far been unprecedented in Ligue 1 history.[7] Despite finishing behind Montpellier in 2011–12, the elusive league crown was finally brought back to Paris in 2012–13 driven by star player Zlatan Ibrahimović, team captain Thiago Silva and famous manager Carlo Ancelotti.[7][62] Zlatan's 30-goal haul almost single-handedly led the capital side to its first Ligue 1 title in 19 years, and third overall. However, PSG were unlucky to be eliminated from the UEFA Champions League on away goals Barcelona in the quarter-finals after drawing both games.[62]

Big money signings continued with the arrivals of Edinson Cavani in 2013 and David Luiz in 2014.[8] Despite the departure of Carlo Ancelotti, PSG kept its winning ways under Laurent Blanc. The club secured a maiden domestic treble (Ligue 1, Coupe de la Ligue and Trophée des Champions) in the 2013–14 season, before claiming an unprecedented national quadruple (Ligue 1, Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue and Trophée des Champions) twice in a row in 2014–15 and 2015–16.[63][64] However, Blanc's teams were never able to advance past the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League, a goal that president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and ownership group QSI made clear was the ultimate benchmark for the club's success.[61]

Fresh from three consecutive UEFA Europa League titles with Sevilla, Unai Emery was hired by PSG for his European pedigree.[61] But with star player Zlatan Ibrahimović gone, the club endured a disappointing 2016–17 season.[65][66] Paris were pipped to the Ligue 1 title by Monaco, missing out on top spot for the first time in five years. Additionally, PSG surrendered a 4–0 first-leg lead over Barcelona with a historic 6–1 thrashing at Camp Nou in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League.[66] Nevertheless, they secured another domestic cup treble, claiming the Trophée des Champions, the Coupe de la Ligue and the Coupe de France.[65][66]

In response, PSG assembled a fearsome attacking trio composed of Edinson Cavani and world-record signings Neymar and Kylian Mbappé in the 2017–18 campaign.[67] The capital club reclaimed the Ligue 1 title and successfully defended the three cups, clinching the domestic quadruple for the third time in four seasons.[64][68] But, with Parisian fans promised European glory in light of their massive expenditure, these victories on the national stage were not enough after their UEFA Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid in the round of 16.[69] As a result, Unai Emery left the club at the end of the season.[70]

Paris Saint-Germain again fell in the Champions League round of 16 in 2018–19, suffering a shock 1–3 defeat at home to Manchester United after winning the first leg 0–2 at Old Trafford.[71] This season, they won the Ligue 1 for the 8th time in their history, but lost in the Coupe de France final against Rennes.[72][73] PSG were eliminated from the Coupe de la Ligue in embarrassing fashion, as they lost 1–2 at home to EA Guingamp in the quarterfinals. However, the team defeated the same opposition by a margin of 9–0 ten days later in the league.[74][75]

In 2019–20, PSG won the Ligue 1 for the 9th time in their history, following the title being awarded to them based on PPG ratio as the season was ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[76] Once the lockdown ended, they also reclaimed the Coupe de France after defeating Saint-Étienne in the final,[77] and the last-ever Coupe de la Ligue with a penalty shootout win over Lyon in the final on 31 July.[78] In the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League, PSG reached the semi-finals for the second time since 1995, after a 2–1 win over Atalanta,[79] and then reached its first-ever final by defeating RB Leipzig 3–0.[80] In a tightly contested final, PSG lost to Bayern Munich 0–1.