Paris Saint-Germain Academy

On 17 June 1970 Paris Football Club and Stade Saint-Germain merged to form men's football team Paris Saint-Germain Football Club. It was made official on 12 August 1970 with the creation of the Association Paris Saint-Germain. This organization has managed the club's amateur section, including the academy, ever since then. It also ran the professional section until 1991.[1] So, like the club itself, the Paris Saint-Germain Academy was officially established on the same date.[2]

The first wave of graduates emerged in the 1972–73 season. A total of ten players were promoted to the first team in what still is the largest class in the academy's history. It was made up of Éric Renaut, Patrice Zbinden, Claude Rivet, Patrice Turpin, Bernard Lambert, Michel Llodra, Thierry Coutard, Robin Leclercq, Richard Vanquelles and Kamel Ben Mustapha.[3] These players would all go on to play for the first team, with Renaut being the most successful one, amassing 290 appearances during his decade at the club.[3][4] They were part of the club's reserve side that won the Coupe de Paris in 1971–72 and 1972–73, the academy's first titles ever. PSG won this cup again in 1979–80.[3][5]

On 4 November 1975, the club opened the academy's first centre, with Pierre Alonzo as its director. The maiden generation issued from this centre was led by François Brisson, Jean-Marc Pilorget, Lionel Justier and Thierry Morin. On 21 December 1975, a few weeks after the inauguration, PSG's so-called « four musketeers » made their professional debuts as starters against Reims in a league match at the Parc des Princes. Brisson won an Olympic gold medal with France in 1984, while Justier became a fan favorite at PSG. For his part, Pilorget remains to this day PSG's all-time record appearance maker with 435 official matches.[6] Finally, Morin played most of his career with PSG before being named director of the CFA Omnisports in 1994. Formed at the club's initiative, this organization is responsible for the education of the academy players. Morin presided it until 2018.[6][7] He is now the general secretary of the Association PSG.[1]

Another great youth product was Luis Fernandez. A big PSG fan, he made his debut in 1978, became team captain and led the club to its first major trophies in the 1980s. He then returned as coach during PSG's golden era in the 1990s, leading them to the domestic cup double in 1995 and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1996.[8][9]

The late 1980s and early 1990s welcomed another bright generation of young players including Richard Dutruel, Jean-Claude Fernandes, Thomas Kokkinis, Roméo Calenda, Francis Llacer, Pascal Nouma and Bernard Allou. Before playing for the first team, they were part of the men's under-19 and reserve sides that claimed the Championnat National des Cadets title and the Coupe Gambardella in 1987–88 and 1990–91, respectively.[5][10][11] The men's under-17 then won the Montaigu Tournament in 1993, while finishing runners-up in the Plougonvelin Tournament that same year. Already one of France's best youth systems, the PSG Academy were given the Best Youth Club award by the French Football Federation in 1988–89.[5]

Dutruel, Llacer, Nouma and Allou were all part of the club's crowning glory in the 1996 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final with legend Luis Fernandez now as coach. Jérôme Leroy, Pierre Ducrocq and Nicolas Anelka also made their first-team breakthroughs during that decade.[3] Anelka, however, was the pioneer of promising PSG talents signing for other European clubs due to the lack of game time. He signed for Arsenal in 1997 at the age of 17 for a really small fee. This would become a regular trend in the 2010s.[12][13]

The later half of the 1990s and the early 2000s were bittersweet; players kept reaching the first team, but only Sylvain Distin, Bartholomew Ogbeche and Lorik Cana cemented their place in it.[3][4] Additionally, the youth sides didn't win any trophy.[5] Fortunes changed in the late 2000s as the PSG Academy slowly began its rise to the top of French youth football.[3] Clément Chantôme and Mamadou Sakho were the two most successful graduates during these years. They were part of the men's under-19 side that won the club's first Championnat National U19 in 2006 and then became regular starters for the first team, playing over 200 games and winning several trophies.[3][4][14] Sakho was also club captain between 2011 and 2012.[15] Albeit with different players, the U19 team also won the Tournoi Carisport in 2008, a trophy which heralded an era of unprecedented success for the PSG Academy.[5]

Since 2009–10, the academy teams have dominated the national scene. That season, the men's under-19 team won the Championnat National U19 final against Monaco, while the men's under-17 side lost to Sochaux on penalties.[12] The club also began developing a women's section of the academy to strengthen its first-team squad with homegrown players, setting the goal of opening it by 2012 and having the first players graduating from it by 2014.[16] The 2010–11 season was even more prolific as PSG became the first club to be crowned French champions in both age categories. The U19 won their second title in a row against Grenoble, while the U17 defeated arch-rivals Marseille in the final to clinch the club's first Championnat National U17 title.[12] PSG received the Best Youth Club award for the second time in history in recognition of their U17/U19 double. They won it again in 2012–13 and 2013–14.[5][12]

The U19 participated in another final in 2011–12 but they would have to wait until 2015–16 and their victory over Lyon to be champions again. That same season, following two consecutive silver medals in 2013–14 and 2014–15, the U17 defeated Saint-Étienne and won the title as well, thus handing PSG their second double. They claimed their second championship in a row and third overall after beating Monaco in 2016–17.[12] The women's department has been doing just as well. As planned, the club inaugurated it at the Bougival training center in 2012 and Grace Geyoro became the first graduate to play for the professional team in 2014.[16][17][18] The U19 have reached the Championnat National Féminin U19 final a record six times since 2013–14, winning three of them. The ladies defeated Lyon in 2015–16, 2016–17 and 2018–19 to clinch the trophy.[5][19][20]

The academy has also shined at the European and international level. The U19 first reached the UEFA Youth League final in 2016, narrowly losing to Chelsea, and then downed Monaco to win the Tournoi Européen des Centres U21 in 2018.[12][21] Simultaneously, the U17 have dominated the Alkass International Cup, contested in Doha, Qatar by teams from around the world. They won the inaugural edition in 2012 and reached the final in 2013, before regaining the trophy in 2015 and 2018.[12]

Despite its success, the academy has seen the exodus of several promising talents to other European clubs for free since 2014.[12][13] This has been the case of Kingsley Coman (Juventus, 2014), Dan-Axel Zagadou (Borussia Dortmund, 2017), Claudio Gomes (Manchester City, 2018), Tanguy Kouassi (Bayern Munich, 2020), Adil Aouchiche (Saint-Étienne, 2020), Vicki Becho (Lyon, 2020) and Alice Sombath (Lyon, 2020).[12][13][22][23][24] Conversely, other graduates like Adrien Rabiot, Alphonse Areola, Presnel Kimpembe, Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Grace Geyoro, Perle Morroni and Sandy Baltimore have played big roles in the men's and women's first teams.[3][4][17]

In May 2019, following the end of the 2018–19 season, the club decided to dissolve its men's reserve team and instead focus on the under-19s squad from the 2019–20 campaign onwards.[12][25] The reserves used to compete in the Championnat National 2, the fourth tier of French football.[7][25] Consequently, the under-19s side became the last step before breaking into the first team.[7] Club officials considered that the reserves no longer offered the desirable conditions in preparing players for the step up to the professional squad. In fact, many of PSG's starlets had skipped the reserves and gone straight into the first team.[7][25]

The 2019–20 season would have been the academy's first without its reserve team. In mid-April 2020, however, the French Football Federation (FFF) voided all amateur football leagues because of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on football.[26] As the coronavirus outbreak continued to spread, the FFF suspended the 2020–21 campaign for amateur teams in October 2020 before definitely voiding it in March 2021.[27] Despite the forced inactivity, the FFF still recognized the PSG Academy as the country's best youth system in 2019 and 2020.[28]

In the 2021–22 season, the first to be fully completed since the pandemic began, the male U19 and U17 sides were both eliminated at the semifinal stage of their respective championships, while the female U19 failed to defend their league crown and finished second to Lyon.[29][30][31] The 2022–23 campaign played out in similar fashion: the female U19 finished behind Lyon once again, the male U17 missed out on the championship phase, and the male U19 lost the final to Nantes.[32][33][34]

PSG's now-defunct reserve team during the 2007–08 season.

Players recruited by the club join the Paris Saint-Germain Academy from a young age and work their way up to the youth system's top teams before breaking into the men's and women's professional squads. Male players have to pass through the U17 and U19 sides before being promoted to the first team, while the U19 side is the final step for female players. The men's U19 compete in four competitions – the Championnat National U19, the Coupe Gambardella, the UEFA Youth League and the Premier League International Cup. Likewise, the men's U17 play in the Championnat National U17 and the Al Kass International Cup. Finally, the women's U19 take part in the Championnat National Féminin U19.[7]

Formerly, there was also a men's reserve side, which competed in the Championnat National 2. It was dissolved after the end of the 2018–19 season.[12][25] In 2019, the club's second reserve side was promoted to the Championnat National 3. However, the team is not linked to the professional team nor the youth academy; it is solely made up of amateur players.[35] Despite this, several youth players have played matches for the team.[36]

The Paris Saint-Germain Academy began expanding its network in 2005 as part of the club's international development strategy. Pauleta, emblematic club legend and striker from 2003 to 2008, is the academy's official ambassador.[37] Year-round, the PSG Academy centers scattered across the globe welcome all children, boys and girls, age 4 through 17 in 19 countries: the United States, Canada, Brazil, France, Wales, England, Germany, Portugal, Turkey, Qatar, Kuwait, Russia, Egypt, Senegal, Rwanda, South Korea, Thailand, China and the United Arab Emirates.[38] The academy also offers these children an adapted and complete scholarly education assured by the Centre de Formation d'Apprentis Omnisports Ile-de-France (CFA Omnisports).[6]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  MAR Bilal Laurendon — GK  ALB Gabriel Guri — DF  FRA Erwan Adonis — DF  FRA Thomas Cordier — DF  FRA Sékou Doucoure — DF  FRA Yoram Zague — DF  FRA Hugo Kissanga — DF  FRA Joane Gadou — DF  FRA Ethan Bagbonon — DF  MAR Naoufel El Hannach — DF  POR Serif Nhaga — MF  POR Raphaël Fernandes

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  GUI Ibrahima Diaby — MF  FRA Yanis Khaffi — MF  FRA Ethan Mbappé — MF  FRA Etienne Michut — MF  FRA Senny Mayulu — MF  FRA Riyad Messaoudi — MF  FRA Kamil Bensoula — FW  FRA Mahamadou Sangaré — FW  FRA Tony Mendy — FW  FRA Zayon Chtaï-Telamio — FW  FRA Djibril Mavounia — FW  FRA Ilies Ardjani

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  FRA Noah Cousin — GK  FRA Martin James — GK  FRA Bocar Sy — DF  FRA Yanis Bastaraud — DF  FRA Vainqueur Diyunu Nzinga — DF  FRA Abdou Fanne — MF  FRA Isaac Mensah — MF  FRA Noah Nsoki

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  FRA Axel Tape — MF  GUI Ibrahima Diaby — FW  ROU Kevin Țăran — FW  FRA Daniel Marques — FW  FRA Quentin Ndjantou — FW  FRA Djamy Olax — FW  FRA Chams Soule — FW  FRA Oumar Camara

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  FRA Alyssa Fernandes — GK  FRA Océane Toussaint — DF  FRA Tara Elimbi Gilbert — DF  FRA Mariama Dabo — DF  FRA Olivia Romiti — DF  FRA Eden Le Guilly — DF  FRA Marie Mulot — DF  FRA Landryna Lushimba Bilombi — MF  FRA Baby Jordy Benera — MF  FRA Lahna Diawara

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  FRA Lucie Bertrand — MF  FRA Stella Maignan — MF  FRA Amélie Joseph — MF  FRA Anaïs Ebayilin — MF  FRA Katia Imarazene — FW  FRA Fanny Rossi — FW  CMR Nina Soufiya Ngueleu — FW  FRA Naolia Traoré — FW  FRA Hanna'a Chamsoudine — FW  FRA Ornella Graziani

Since the academy's inception, 147 graduates have played for the men's first team.[3][28]

Éric Renaut

Luis Fernandez

Nicolas Anelka

Presnel Kimpembe

Kingsley Coman

Marie-Antoinette Katoto

Sandy Baltimore

No. Player Promotion 1 Thierry Coutard 1972–73 2 Bernard Lambert 3 Robin Leclercq 4 Michel Llodra 5 Éric Renaut 6 Claude Rivet 7 Patrice Turpin 8 Richard Vanquelles 9 Patrice Zbinden 10 Kamel Ben Mustapha 11 Jacky Bade 1973–74 12 Pierre Bajoc 13 Guy Nosibor

No. Player Promotion 14 Michel Bensoussan 1974–75 15 Gérard Cenzato 16 Dominique Lokoli 17 Bernard Moraly 1975–76 18 Pierre-Antoine Dossevi 19 Dominique Barberat 20 Dominique Berthaud 21 François Brisson 22 Lionel Justier 23 Thierry Morin 24 Jean-Marc Pilorget 25 Gilles Brisson 1976–77

No. Player Promotion 26 Hervé Porquet 1977–78 27 Mario Mongelli 28 Philippe Jean 29 Jean-Claude Lemoult 30 Franck Tanasi 31 Bernard Bureau 1978–79 32 Philippe Col 33 Luis Fernandez 34 Franck Mérelle 35 Gilles Cardinet 1979–80 36 Patrick Grappin 37 Didier Toffolo

No. Player Promotion 38 Alain Préfaci 1981–82 39 Thierry Bacconnier 1982–83 40 Yannick Guillochon 41 Pascal Havet 1984–85 42 Thierry Tinmar 43 Sylvain Bied 44 Jean-Luc Girard 45 Patrice Marquet 46 Olivier Martinez 47 Fabrice Moreau 48 Laurent Pimond 49 Franck Vandecasteele 50 Liazid Sandjak 1986–87 51 Claude Barrabé 52 Amara Simba 53 Pierre Reynaud 54 Jean-Luc Vasseur

No. Player Promotion 55 Stéphane Persol 1987–88 56 Francis Llacer 1989–90 57 Pascal Nouma 58 David Rinçon 59 Thomas Kokkinis 1990–91 60 Richard Dutruel 1991–92 61 Patrick M'Boma 1992–93 62 Roméo Calenda 1993–94 63 Jean-Claude Fernandes 64 Bernard Allou 1994–95 65 Didier Domi 66 Pierre Ducrocq 67 Vincent Fernandez 68 Nicolas Anelka 1995–96 69 Djamel Belmadi 70 Jérôme Leroy 71 Edvin Murati

No. Player Promotion 72 Sylvain Distin 1997–98 73 Fabrice Kelban 74 Grégory Paisley 75 Fabrice Abriel 1999–2000 76 Gaël Hiroux 77 Selim Benachour 2000–01 78 Bartholomew Ogbeche 2001–02 79 Chiguy Lucau 2002–03 80 Lorik Cana 81 Hocine Ragued 82 Samuel Piètre 83 Franck Dja Djédjé 2003–04 84 Jean-Michel Badiane 2004–05 85 Sol Bamba 86 Rudy Haddad 87 Boukary Dramé 2005–06

No. Player Promotion 88 Clément Chantôme 2006–07 89 Larrys Mabiala 90 Youssouf Mulumbu 91 David N'Gog 92 Mamadou Sakho 93 Loris Arnaud 2007–08 94 Yannick Boli 95 Granddi Ngoyi 96 Younousse Sankharé 97 Maxime Partouche 98 Tripy Makonda 2008–09 99 Jean-Eudes Maurice 100 Florian Makhedjouf 2010–11 101 Yacine Qasmi 102 Jean-Christophe Bahebeck 103 Neeskens Kebano 104 Loïck Landre

No. Player Promotion 105 Kévin Rimane 2011–12 106 Adrien Rabiot 2012–13 107 Kalifa Traoré 108 Hervin Ongenda 109 Antoine Conte 110 Kingsley Coman 111 Alphonse Areola 112 Presnel Kimpembe 2014–15 113 Jean-Kévin Augustin 114 Jérémi Kimmakon 115 Christopher Nkunku 2015–16 116 Yakou Méïte 117 Timothée Taufflieb 118 Antoine Bernède 2016–17 119 Lorenzo Callegari 120 Alec Georgen 121 Jonathan Ikoné

No. Player Promotion 122 Colin Dagba 2017–18 123 Timothy Weah 124 Moussa Diaby 125 Stanley N'Soki 126 Yacine Adli 2018–19 127 Metehan Güçlü 128 Loïc Mbe Soh 129 Arthur Zagre 2019–20 130 Tanguy Nianzou 131 Adil Aouchiche 132 Arnaud Kalimuendo 2020–21 133 Kays Ruiz-Atil 134 Bandiougou Fadiga 135 Timothée Pembélé 136 Xavi Simons 137 Edouard Michut 138 Kenny Nagera

No. Player Promotion 139 Éric Junior Dina Ebimbe 2021–22 140 Ismaël Gharbi 141 Nathan Bitumazala 142 El Chadaille Bitshiabu 143 Sekou Yansané 144 Djeidi Gassama 145 Alexandre Letellier 146 Warren Zaïre-Emery 2022–23 147 Ilyes Housni

Since the launch of the women's section of the academy, 21 graduates have played for the first team.[16][17][18][58]

No. Player Promotion 1 Grace Geyoro 2014–15 2 Marie-Antoinette Katoto 3 Perle Morroni 4 Hawa Cissoko 5 Anissa Lahmari 6 Sandy Baltimore 2016–17 7 Lina Boussaha 8 Sana Daoudi 9 Léa Kergal 2017–18 10 Naomie Vagre 2019–20 11 Vicki Bècho

No. Player Promotion 12 Océane Hurtré 2020–21 13 Jade Le Guilly 14 Laurina Fazer 15 Hawa Sangaré 16 Magnaba Folquet 2021–22 17 Nelly Da Cruz Rodrigues 18 Soufiya Ngueleu 19 Baby Jordy Benera 20 Manssita Traoré 21 Tara Elimbi Gilbert 2022–23

The Titi d'Or is an annual award presented by Les Titis du PSG to the most promising and best talents in the Paris Saint-Germain Academy. Les Titis du PSG is an association affiliated to Paris Saint Germain that covers news of the club's academy. The prize has been awarded to male players since 2007, with an exception in 2010 due to technical reasons.[59][60] Since 2019, it has also been presented to the most gifted female player.[61]

Clément Chantôme

Grace Geyoro

Only 22 graduates have played in 100 or more such matches in official competitions for the club's male and female first teams.[62][63]

As of 6 October 2023. Bold denotes an active player for the club.[4][58]

Rank	Player	Position	Paris Saint-Germain	Appearances
1	Jean-Marc Pilorget	DF	1975–1989	435
2	Éric Renaut	DF	1972–1982	290
3	Luis Fernandez	MF	1978–1986	273
4	Jean-Claude Lemoult	MF	1977–1986	266
5	Franck Tanasi	DF	1977–1991	254
6	Clément Chantôme	MF	2006–2015	249
7	Francis Llacer	DF	1989–2003	248
8	Presnel Kimpembe	DF	2014–	236
9	Adrien Rabiot	MF	2012–2019	227
10	Grace Geyoro	MF	2014–	210
11	Mamadou Sakho	DF	2007–2013	201
12	Thierry Morin	DF	1975–1986	174
13	Marie-Antoinette Katoto	FW	2015–	166
14	Jérôme Leroy	MF	1996–2000 2002–2003	166
15	Sandy Baltimore	FW	2016–	154
16	Dominique Lokoli	DF	1974–1979	149
17	Pierre Ducrocq	MF	1994–2002	148
18	Pierre Reynaud	MF	1986–1994	125
19	Philippe Col	DF	1978–1983	119
20	Didier Domi	DF	1995–1998 2001–2004	114
21	Amara Simba	FW	1986–1993	109
22	Alphonse Areola	GK	2012–2022	107