Who can shake up the hierarchy at Paris Saint-Germain?
The 2025-2026 season showed that Luis Enrique was not managing an eleven-player team. Safonov overturned the hierarchy, Mayulu and Beraldo were entrusted with major matches, while Zaïre-Emery or Zabarnyi played a lot.
The eleven of the finals does not tell the whole story
When all the players are available, Luis Enrique's choices seem relatively identifiable. Matvey Safonov finished the season ahead of Lucas Chevalier. Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos, Willian Pacho and Nuno Mendes make up the reference defense, while Vitinha, João Neves and Fabian Ruiz make up the preferred midfield in major matches.
Safonov, proof that the order can be overturned
The goalkeeper competition is the best example of an open hierarchy. Lucas Chevalier had been recruited to occupy the number one position and embody the future of Paris. Matvey Safonov, however, took advantage of his opportunities, established a progressive trust and finished the season ahead of him.
The 2025-2026 season showed the limits of a reading based solely on the compositions of the finals
Dembélé, indispensable when the level rose, was regularly spared in Ligue 1. At the same time, Zabarnyi, Zaïre-Emery, Mayulu, Beraldo or Barcola accumulated titularizations and responsibilities. Paris did not function with a first team playing all the matches and a few substitutes charged with finishing the matches already won.
Luis Enrique used the championship as a space for competition, development and experimentation
Some played a lot without belonging to the European eleven of reference; others started less in Ligue 1 but remained prioritized when the big evenings arrived. The Parisian hierarchy depends therefore as much on the moment, the opponent and the sought-after profile as on a theoretical ranking of the players in the Parisian group.
