PSG's Lucas Beraldo finds home in new role

Lucas Beraldo was playing a marginal role at PSG until he found a new lease of life in Luis Enrique's midfield.

Latest Luis Enrique experiment reaps rewards

Luis Enrique is not shy when it comes to testing players in new positions. It was repurposing Ousmane Dembélé as a No.9 last season that earned the Rennes academy product his first Ballon d'Or. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has recently also played as a central striker; Nuno Mendes has started on the left wing; Warren Zaire-Emery has played wing-back; and Désiré Doué, well, he can and has played all over the pitch.

Beraldo is the PSG manager's latest experiment, and his move into the midfield is giving him his best run in the team since joining. He has started just 14 games in Ligue 1 McDonald's this season, but has now started each of the club's last four in the league. Prior to his repositioning, he had not played a single minute in the UEFA Champions League either. That changed at Anfield earlier this month, when he came off the bench as Les Parisiens progressed to the semi-finals.

Lucas Beraldo, new PSG's midfielder 🪄 pic.twitter.com/VpRpa05sHk
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) April 26, 2026

And his performance against Angers on Saturday may now have Luis Enrique thinking. Beraldo has now become a serious option in what is an incredibly gifted midfield. With PSG closing in on the Ligue 1 McDonald's title, he is expected to continue to earn game time, but as they prepare to face Bayern Munich, perhaps he could be in for more minutes in the UCL, too.

Beraldo netted in the 3-0 win over Angers. "My best match at PSG? Maybe. In this position, it is my best match," he reacted post-match. "I am feeling really good. The manager has given me a lot of confidence, and the players, too. It is easy in this position. You are free."

Beraldo compared to Busquets

Luis Enrique didn't shy away from praising Beraldo, either. "He [was] the man of the match. He did everything well. It is excellent news for us. He can play at a very high level in this position," said the Spaniard.

He continued, "It is rare to see a player play with one or two touches and improve with each action. I think that he has a bright future in this position. Normally, I don't like to push a defender up to midfield. I prefer to move a more attacking player backwards, as I have for almost my whole career. But Beraldo is a different central defender. He is a Brazilian with a lot of technical quality [...] we thought about it four matches ago when Vitinha wasn't there, but he is more of a Sergio Busquets than a Vitinha."

Quite the praise for the man who has announced himself as a very viable option for PSG in the holding midfield role. Pushing ahead of the likes of Vitinha, Joao Neves, Fabián Ruiz, and Zaire-Emery will be difficult, but he now finds himself in the rotation and with a new lease of life.

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