Stars in Europe - Keyplayer - Talents - PSG’s Revolution - Warren Zaïre-Emery
The Details
Homegrown players were once a rare sight on Paris Saint-Germain team sheets. Early in the Qatari era, the club was built on big-name signings, and academy products like Kingsley Coman and Mike Maignan left before making their mark. That changed. After the previous year’s treble-winning campaign led by Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué, PSG built around their own talent, a shift accelerated by an early-season injury crisis. With Dembélé, Doué and Achraf Hakimi among the long-term absentees, as many as five academy graduates, all from the Paris area, appeared on the team sheet.
The Campus
Two years earlier, PSG had left the Camp des Loges, their base since 1975, for the state-of-the-art PSG Campus. Spanning 59 hectares, it hosted the men’s and women’s teams and their youth sides, with 16 pitches, accommodation for 140 young players, educational facilities, and even a vegetable garden. The senior team trained at the very top of the four-tier complex.
The Philosophy
Speaking at the event marking the academy’s 50th anniversary, sporting advisor Luis Campos said the plan was to involve “more and more players from the Paris area” in the first team. His view on the transfer market: “Going to the supermarket often doesn’t make you a better cook.” Luis Enrique’s arrival two seasons earlier had been favoured for his courage to play young talents as soon as they were ready.
The New Crop
Against Barcelona in October 2025, Senny Mayulu led the line and scored in PSG’s unlikely 2:1 win, with Warren Zaïre-Emery, Quentin Ndjantou and Ibrahim Mbaye also involved and 17-year-old Mathis Jangeal on the bench after his senior debut days earlier. Mayulu, who scored the fifth goal in the Champions League final win over Inter in May, reached 50 senior appearances thanks to his versatility, playing everywhere from right back to centre forward. Zaïre-Emery, in his fourth first-team season, captained the injury-hit side from right back and rediscovered the explosive form that first lit up his career. Academy director Yohan Cabaye was clear that he was the exception: “Otherwise you’d have 20 16-year-olds knocking on Luis Enrique’s door.”
The Pipeline
A team of full-time scouts covered youth football across the capital, as rivals had long recruited from the same talent pool. The under-19 side retained their league title and impressed in Europe, drawing 30 to 40 scouts from France and abroad to youth games. The academy was not entirely smooth, though: a labour inspection visit at the end of October reportedly highlighted workload and management issues, and Cabaye said the club had “nothing to hide” and needed “a bit more communication.”
The Closer
New campus, new philosophy, same hunger. PSG’s homegrown stars are ready to carry the European champions’ title defence, starting against Tottenham.
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