No PSG starters as France fall to Ivory Coast
Deschamps left all five PSG players on the bench for Thursday's friendly, and France paid the price with a 1–2 defeat to Côte d'Ivoire. Lucas Hernandez, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Désiré Doué, Bradley Barcola, and Ousmane Dembélé were all rested, none got a single minute (5) (8).
The match turned into the Doué family show. Guéla Doué, brother of PSG's Désiré, scored for Côte d'Ivoire and celebrated by booting the corner flag (8) (10). Franck Kessié also made headlines for accidentally flattening the referee during the match (9).
Kvaratskhelia to Arsenal? The noise is growing
Pat Nevin has publicly declared Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is "the perfect player for Arsenal" and says he was shouting about him years before anyone listened: "I remember three or four years ago trying to tell the whole world there's a guy that's going to be one of the best players in the world called Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and I was getting ignored" (4).
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No formal bid yet, but with Arsenal circling, eyes are on PSG's response, letting a Champions League winner walk won't sit well with anyone.
Back2Back jersey breaks records
PSG's commemorative Back2Back Champions League collector jersey sold 30,000 units in three hours flat (1). The demand speaks volumes about where this club sits right now, two European titles in two years, and the fanbase can't get enough.
Paulo César stays, the project continues
The club has decided to continue with manager Paulo César moving forward (2). After the Luis Enrique era delivered back-to-back Champions League titles, stability at the top is the message.
Kroupi Junior wants Paris, Milan talent in sight
Bournemouth's Eli Kroupi Junior is pushing hard for a PSG move, though no official talks have started yet (3). Separately, PSG are working to poach a young talent from AC Milan as the club doubles down on its strategy of hoovering up Europe's best prospects (7).
Transfer tug-of-war: Arsenal and Liverpool also busy
PSG are competing directly with Arsenal for two unnamed players this window (6). Meanwhile, Liverpool are stepping up their pursuit of RB Leipzig's Yan Diomande, another name on the radar of elite clubs (6).
Fan reactions
The subreddit is riding high on the back-to-back Champions League glow. Fans are already debating whether a third straight title would put this PSG side on the same level as Guardiola's Barcelona or Zidane's Real Madrid, and the consensus seems to be: let's find out. João Neves' contract renewal and Vitinha's "it would be stupid to change" loyalty have the fanbase feeling secure about the core sticking together. Join the discussion.
