26/27 Preview #14: Paris Saint-Germain
Last season
How do you follow a historic treble? By becoming the first team in the Champions League era outside Real Madrid to retain the trophy.
Paris Saint-Germain's 2025/26 campaign lacked some of the inevitability that characterised the previous season, particularly domestically. RC Lens kept Luis Enrique's side under pressure for much of the year and PSG were forced to wait until May to mathematically secure the championship, eventually doing so with a 2-0 victory at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis. It was their fifth consecutive Ligue 1 title and a record-extending 14th overall.
They were denied another clean sweep of the domestic trophies after being surprisingly eliminated by Paris FC in the Coupe de France round of 32, but Europe once again provided the defining moment of their campaign.
Twelve months after dismantling Inter in Munich to lift their first Champions League, PSG returned to the final in Budapest. This time there was no procession. Arsenal pushed the holders all the way through extra time before PSG prevailed 4-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw, becoming European champions for a second consecutive season.
The triumph confirmed that Luis Enrique's side were no longer simply experiencing one extraordinary peak. PSG had become European football's reference point.
Evolution rather than revolution
That makes the challenge this summer rather different. PSG do not need rebuilding. Instead, Luis Enrique and sporting advisor Luis Campos have continued to refine a young squad while avoiding the kind of dramatic turnover that once characterised summers in the capital.
Maghnes Akliouche is the headline addition from AS Monaco. The France international has signed until 2031 and provides another technically gifted, versatile option capable of playing between midfield and attack.
Ferran Torres has also arrived from Barcelona on a deal until 2031 following an outstanding season in Spain and his decisive contribution to La Roja's World Cup triumph. His versatility should help compensate for the departure of Gonçalo Ramos to AC Milan, giving Luis Enrique another forward capable of operating centrally or from either flank.
Lucas Digne, meanwhile, has returned to the club more than a decade after leaving Paris, adding experience and depth on the left side of defence.
It is not revolution, but that is precisely the point. Vitinha, João Neves, Désiré Doué, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembélé and the rest of the core that conquered Europe remain in place. PSG have simply added more solutions around them.
Player to watch: Maghnes Akliouche
There are few environments in world football more demanding than this PSG squad, but Akliouche arrives seemingly tailor-made for it.
The former Monaco midfielder combines creativity and close control with the positional intelligence required to operate within Luis Enrique's fluid system. He can play wide, as a number ten or deeper in midfield and gives the PSG coach another player capable of changing positions during matches without disrupting the structure around him.
The 24-year-old has already been handed an early opportunity, starting the UEFA Super Cup victory over Aston Villa just days after completing his transfer.
The question is therefore less whether Akliouche possesses the quality to succeed in Paris than how quickly he can carve out a significant role in perhaps the most competitive attacking unit in Europe.
What to expect
The opening weeks have already demonstrated both sides of the challenge facing PSG. Luis Enrique's men retained the UEFA Super Cup by defeating Aston Villa 2-1, only to lose 1-0 to Lens in the Trophée des Champions four days later. Even the best team in Europe can still be beaten.
Over a 34-game Ligue 1 season, however, somebody will have to do it consistently. Lens pushed PSG harder than expected last year, while Monaco, Marseille and the league's other European contenders will hope to close the gap. But the champions begin another campaign with the deepest squad in France, continuity on the bench and several of world football's outstanding young players approaching their prime.
Winning Ligue 1 is once again the minimum expectation. A sixth consecutive title would extend their unprecedented run of domestic dominance.
The greater question surrounding PSG in 2026/27 is no longer whether they can conquer France. It is how much further Luis Enrique can take a team that has already conquered Europe twice.
READ MORE:
>> Preview #12: OGC Nice
>> Lyon battle to UCL draw away to Fenerbahçe
>> Trophée des Champions: Lens edge PSG
