PSG — Life After Mbappe
When Kylian Mbappe departed for Real Madrid, the football world declared PSG finished as a European force. The reality in 2025-26 has been remarkably different. Under Luis Enrique's collective system, Paris Saint-Germain are thriving — not despite losing their superstar, but because of what replaced him: a cohesive, system-driven team built to win the Champions League.
The Mbappe Departure: A Blessing in Disguise?
Kylian Mbappe's seven-year spell at PSG was simultaneously magnificent and limiting. His individual brilliance masked structural weaknesses, and coaches routinely designed systems around accommodating his unique profile rather than building coherent collective units. The departure to Real Madrid, while a PR blow for the QSI ownership group, proved to be the catalyst for genuine sporting progress.
Luis Enrique had been advocating for a system-first approach since his appointment, often clashing with the realities of managing a squad containing multiple superstars with divergent interests. Without Mbappe, Neymar already having departed, and Sergio Ramos long gone, the technical director could finally build the cohesive, collective pressing machine he had envisioned from his first days at the club.
The financial resources freed up by Mbappe's exit — his reported €200m+ total package per season — allowed PSG to invest in depth across every position rather than one generational talent. That squad depth, combined with Luis Enrique's tactical clarity, has produced a team that can compete at the highest level without relying on individual genius to solve problems.
The New PSG Identity
Ousmane Dembele — The New Figurehead
Ousmane Dembele has flourished as PSG's primary attacking threat. Freed from the shadow of Mbappe's dominance, the French winger has become the focal point of PSG's attacking play. His dribbling ability, directness, and improving final-third decision-making make him one of Ligue 1's most compelling players. Dembele has finally fulfilled the potential that made Barcelona pay enormous fees for his services, and Paris has brought out his best form.
The Midfield Engine
Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz, and Warren Zaire-Emery form the most technically accomplished midfield three in Ligue 1. Vitinha's positional intelligence and passing precision, Ruiz's ability to shift between lines, and Zaire-Emery's emergence as one of French football's most exciting young talents creates a midfield unit capable of dominating possession against any opponent in Europe. This collective quality is the foundation of everything PSG do.
Champions League: The Holy Grail
The Champions League remains the one trophy that has eluded PSG throughout their QSI era of extraordinary investment. The 2019-20 run to the final, where they lost to Bayern Munich in Lisbon, remains their closest brush with European glory. In the years since, successive eliminations at the hands of Real Madrid and Bayern have highlighted the gap between domestic dominance and European success.
The post-Mbappe PSG are attempting to close that gap through collective quality rather than individual brilliance. Luis Enrique's high press, structured build-up play, and rotational attacking system mirror the approaches that have proven most effective in Champions League knockout football. Teams that beat Madrid and City aren't typically ones with a single superstar — they're teams with cohesive units and tactical clarity throughout.
The irony that PSG's best chance of winning the Champions League may come in a season when they don't have the world's most expensive player is not lost on observers. Qatar Sports Investments' project, derided as galactico excess for a decade, may finally be bearing fruit precisely because the excesses have been stripped away in favour of a genuine football project.
Ligue 1: Maintaining Domestic Supremacy
In Ligue 1, PSG continue to dominate despite the absence of their most marketable asset. Monaco, Marseille, and Lyon have all shown greater consistency in recent seasons than previous challengers, making the 2025-26 title race more competitive than many predicted. But PSG's squad depth — with depth in every position that most Ligue 1 clubs can only dream of — gives them an inherent advantage.
The domestic competition may, paradoxically, benefit from PSG's evolution. A more collective, less reliant-on-one-player PSG is still likely to win the title, but opponents can now construct defensive plans around containing a system rather than stopping an unstoppable individual. That makes for more interesting encounters and a more competitive league, which ultimately serves French football's international standing.
Recruitment: Building for Collective Success
PSG's recruitment since Mbappe's departure has reflected a shift in philosophy. Rather than signing global icons for marketing purposes, the club has targeted players who fit Luis Enrique's system — technically assured, physically capable of executing a high press, and willing to subordinate individual ambitions to team needs. Gonzalo Ramos provides a different striker profile to Mbappe, while Bradley Barcola has emerged as an exciting wide threat from the academy pathway.
The academy investment, long neglected in favour of expensive imports, is beginning to pay dividends. Zaire-Emery's emergence from the youth system alongside other promising French talents represents a sustainable model that could serve PSG well beyond the 2025-26 season. Whether QSI remain committed to this model or revert to galactico signings at the first sign of struggle will define whether this PSG identity is permanent or a temporary phase.