The young squad will face this season’s oldest squad in the Champions League, Internazionale, in the final.
Paris Saint-Germain will continue its youth-heavy approach, club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said on Thursday, after the side qualified for the UEFA Champions League final.
“We were never going to change anything in the project,” Al-Khelaifi told U.S.-based broadcaster CBS, referring to the slow start that PSG had in Europe earlier in the season. “And we are going to continue […] because we believe in our plan. We will stick to it, whatever the result.”
The Parisian side defeated England’s Arsenal 2-1 on Thursday at the Parc des Princes to advance 3-1 on aggregate to the finale of Europe’s elite club competition, where they will face Italy’s Internazionale.
It will be PSG’s second final in five years, having missed out on the title in the Covid-stricken 2019/20 season against Germany’s FC Bayern Munich.
A key difference this time around, compared to their maiden finale run, has been the Qatar Sports Investment-owned club’s shift towards garnering and relying on relatively young players.
“We believe in our talented, young, hungry players,” Al-Khelaifi said after the home win. “Today, it felt like all of them could die in the pitch. That’s the most important for the city and the club.”
Securing the French trio of Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, and Bradley Barcola, coupled with Georgia’s Kvicha Kvaratskhelia and South Korean Kang-in Lee, has bolstered the club’s frontline. Youngsters João Neves and Vitinha are mainstays in the midfield, whereas the rearguard now consists of the likes of Willian Pacho and Nuno Mendes.
Bar Vitinha, all were signed after the 2022 World Cup as the club pivoted away from what most called a Galacticos approach of relying on high-profile players, after the departures of Neymar, Lionel Messi and subsequently Kylian Mbappe. Spanish coach Luis Enrique, a Champions League winner with FC Barcelona in 2015, was entrusted with the team’s charges.
Consequently, PSG will be the youngest side ever to play the final, in terms of the players’ average age, against the competition’s oldest squad this season, Internazionale.
Despite stumbling early on, the side has come a long way en route to becoming one of the most exciting collectives in Europe at present.
“It is a great feeling to be at the final after a long and tough season. People forget that we just had four points from the first three matches, and we had to win all three matches [to qualify],” Al-Khelaifi added.
“Our objective was to take it match by match this year. It was not to be in the final directly. But today, we are in the final with just one match to go. It’s an amazing feeling.”
On May 31, the side could lift the first-ever Champions League title in its history in Munich’s Allianz Arena. That will also complete the Treble if the side manages to outplay Reims at the Coupe de France final on May 24. The domestic league title is already in the bag.
Al-Khelaifi and PSG, however, are cautious and sticking to one game at a time approach, especially when it comes to the Inter clash.
“Today, we fought not only for Paris Saint-Germain, but for France, for Ligue 1, for all the clubs here and the young, talented players in and around Paris,” he added.
“There’s still one match to go — we’re not done.”
