Dream team PSG: Mbappé and Ronaldinho present, Neymar and Messi absent
Paris Saint-Germain was founded in 1970 and in a relatively short period of time the French club has become a major power in Europe.
The 1996 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup champions won 10 Ligue 1 titles, 14 Coupe de France trophies, nine league titles and 11 Trophée des Champions trophies.
Over the years, many global superstars have played for PSG.
who are they? Let’s take a look at the formation of an XI of their greatest players.
Here is the PSG Dream Team proposed by goal.com
Keeper
Bernardo Lama
A member of the French squad that won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000, Bernard Lama joined PSG in 1992 from Lens to replace the legendary Joel Bats.
Lama then had two separate spells with the club during his career.
His first spell was his best, making 177 appearances between 1992 and 1997, winning a Premier League title, two French Cups, a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and the Trophée des Champions.
West Ham signed him in 1997, but he returned to PSG in 1998 and played for a further two years, making 65 appearances before moving on to Rennes.
Here Salvatore Sirigu also deserves a mention. The Italian goalkeeper joined PSG in 2011 and made 145 appearances for the club through 2017, winning four consecutive Scudettos, two consecutive Coupe de France trophies, three consecutive Coupe de la Ligue crowns and four consecutive Champions League trophies.
Defenders:
Marquinhos
One of the club’s most versatile defenders, Paris Saint-Germain bought Marquinhos from Roma in 2013 and the Brazilian has become legendary.
Marquinhos has made over 250 appearances for PSG and ranks third on the club’s all-time appearance record.
Equally adept at playing in defensive midfield and either side of the defence, Marquinhos won 26 trophies at PSG and was also part of the squad that reached the Champions League final in the 2019-20 season.
Jean-Marc Pilorget
Record holder for the most PSG selections in its history, Jean-Marc Pilorget joins Marquinhos in our dream team’s rearguard.
Pilorget made 435 appearances in all competitions for the Parisians during his 14 years at the club.
The defender won a Scudetto and two French Cups during his time at PSG.
Thiago Silva
A fantastic PSG captain, Thiago Silva joined the club in 2012 with the title of the most expensive defender in history.
Over the next eight years, he would go on to justify his price tag and achieve legendary status at the club, ushering them into a new era of dominance.
In 2014-15, Silva won the domestic quadruple with PSG, winning Ligue 1, the Coupe de la Ligue, the Trophée des Champions and the Coupe de France.
Silva made 315 appearances for PSG before joining Chelsea in 2020.
This dream team would surely be incomplete without him!
Maxwell
After a brief spell at Barcelona, Brazilian left-back Maxwell joined PSG in 2012.
The attacking-minded left-back made over 200 appearances for the Parisians, scoring 28 goals and 58 assists for his teammates.
At PSG, Maxwell won four consecutive Ligue 1 titles between 2012 and 2016, three consecutive French Cups between 2014 and 2016, four consecutive Coupe de la Ligue titles between 2013 and 2017, and three Trophées des Champions .
He remained at the club for six years, making 145 appearances before retiring from professional football in 2017.
Midfielders
Safet Susic
Susic was a revelation in his prime, spending most of his time at PSG between 1982 and 1991, making 344 appearances and scoring 85 goals along with a club record 95 assists.
A talented midfielder recognized for his technical and dribbling skills, Susic was voted by France Football as the best player in the history of Paris Saint-Germain, ahead of players like Carlos Bianchi, Mustapha Dahleb, Ronaldinho, George Weah, Joel Bats, Rai and Luis Fernández.
The Brazilian Rai coach deserves an honorable mention here. The attacking midfielder, who could be anywhere in the center of the pitch, made 147 appearances for PSG, scoring 51 goals and winning seven major trophies.
Marco Veratti
One of the best midfielders to ever play for PSG, Marco Verratti finds his place in PSG’s dream team in midfield.
The Italian maestro joined PSG in 2012 and won eight Ligue 1 titles with the club, becoming the first player in their history to achieve the feat.
Verratti made over 250 appearances for PSG, the second most in the club’s history.
Another talented PSG central midfielder, Luis Fernandez, also deserves the spotlight here. The Frenchman joined PSG in 1978 and made 225 appearances for the club in eight years. The Euro 1984 winner with France won a Ligue 1 title and two French Cups with PSG.
Ronaldinho
We couldn’t leave the magician aside, even to the detriment of someone like Neymar.
Ronaldinho was the epitome of Brazilian samba in terms of football.
He earns his place here because PSG is where his magic became known to the world.
Ronaldinho joined PSG from Gremio in 2001 and stayed there for two years, scoring 25 goals in 77 games before joining Barcelona to become one of the greatest players of all time.
Forwards
Kylian Mbappe
When PSG broke the bank to sign Kylian Mbappe from Monaco in 2017, many eyebrows were raised. Well, it sure turned out to be an amazing investment.
The World Cup winner has since established himself as a great striker.
In addition to his goals, Mbappe has won four Ligue 1s, three Coupe de France, two Coupe de la Ligue and two Trophée des Champions to date.
The Champions League trophy still eludes them, having come close once when PSG reached the competition’s final in the 2019-20 season.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimovic joined PSG in 2012, one year after being acquired by QSI.
As expected, the Swedish striker provided pure entertainment for PSG fans during his four years at the club.
Ibrahimovic is the third top scorer in PSG history after Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappé, having scored 156 goals in 180 games in all competitions, winning four Ligue 1s, two Coupé de France, three Coupé de France and three European Cups. Trophy in the French capital.
Despite his exploits at the club, he was unable to deliver a Champions League title to PSG and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players never to win the Champions League in his career. Ibrahimovic left PSG for Manchester United in 2016.
Without Ibrahimovic, George Weah could have been a strong pick here. The Liberian president joined PSG from Monaco in 1992 and scored 32 goals in 96 appearances for the club, helping them win four trophies including Ligue 1 in the 1993-94 season.
Portuguese striker Pauleta, meanwhile, was another top contender.
Edinson Cavani
PSG’s greatest goalscorer Edinson Cavani arrived in the French capital from Napoli in 2013, a year after Ibrahimovic’s arrival at the club.
During his seven years at PSG, Cavani became the club’s top scorer, a record which still stands today.
The Uruguayan maestro scored 200 goals in 301 appearances for PSG in all competitions, winning 22 trophies including six Ligue 1 titles among many other domestic successes.
Cavani followed in Ibrahimovic’s footsteps to join Manchester United in 2020 and continued to play for Valencia in 2022.
