How PSG gave the city of Henry & Mbappe a football club they can be proud of
The city of love, of numerous museums and art houses, of the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, was poor for a footballing monument. France as a nation excelled, stacked World Cups and European Championship, produced artistic footballers as the artists and writers that made Paris their spiritual and literal home. Among Europe’s top five, French clubs have been the least successful, collecting a grand sum of three Champions League trophies. Paris or Monaco, Lille or Marseille did not inspire the awe of Milan or Madrid, Manchester or Munich, Amsterdam or Liverpool. Its congested banlieues raised great footballers, among them Thierry Henry and N’golo Kante; Kylian Mbappe and William Saliba helm the new wave of talent, but not a club that conquered Europe. But by retaining their European crown, a feat only managed by Real Madrid in the Champions League era, PSG have furnished Paris a footballing identity it never owned. Across different eras, numerous clubs had blossomed and withered in the city — most notably Racing Club de France, for whom turned up the French …
