At Paris Saint-Germain, the Youth League is not viewed simply as a trophy to be won, even though lifting it for the first time is one of the club’s objectives. The vision is broader: every match is another step in the development of the young players at the Campus, helping prepare them, game by game, for the sporting, tactical and mental demands of professional football.
That said, the ambition to go as far as possible is very much there, as it is in every competition the club enters. Named France’s best men’s academy in the 2025/26 FFF rankings, PSG were French U19 champions in 2024, 2025 and 2026, French U17 champions and Coupe Gambardella winners in 2026, and reached the UEFA Youth League Final Four that same year.
But all of that comes after a deeper objective: developing players capable of eventually joining the first team. The Youth League serves as a full-scale training ground for that project, with a pace, intensity and setting close to those of the Champions League. So is it a tool or a trophy? Cabaye refuses to choose between the two.
"It remains a development tool, of course," the PSG academy’s sporting director tells us. "The competition exposes our players to different opponents, styles and situations. It gives us reference points to assess their ability to adapt, make decisions and respond to high demands.
"But it is also a competition, and when you play for PSG, you have to aspire to win. The result matters, because managing pressure and doing what it takes to secure an important victory are also abilities. That is part of the learning process. The competition remains an ambition, and the journey towards trying to win it remains a development tool. From one match to the next, we do not always have the same team, and players emerge."
10 players in the senior ranks - all Youth League graduates
Last season’s figures illustrate the impact. Ten academy players made at least one appearance for the senior side, six of them making their first-team debuts. They all have one thing in common: they came through the Youth League, where the club reached the semi-finals for the first time in a decade.
Cabaye sums up what the competition offers beyond domestic matches: "The league remains essential because it is about consistency, weekend after weekend. The Youth League adds another experience. We face teams that work differently, with different reference points and another football culture. For us, it means having to adapt quickly.
"More than in the league, it teaches players to make the right decisions under pressure: how they handle our periods of dominance and our more difficult spells, and how they remain effective in a sometimes challenging environment. At this level, a mistake can be very costly.
"There is also the experience of travelling around Europe. Today, for example, we are going to England and leaving the day before. There is also the organisation involved in a UEFA competition, as well as a great deal of emotion, which is also part of learning what it takes to build a top-level career."
The figures show that the approach is paying dividends even in Europe’s biggest competition. Four academy graduates - Warren Zaire-Emery, Senny Mayulu, Quentin Ndjantou and Ibrahim Mbaye - have featured in the Champions League, the highest number since the 2018/19 season and a sign of a genuine shift in momentum.
"The Youth League does not replicate a Champions League match, that is for sure," he continues. "But it allows us to work on the essential behaviours needed to get closer to that level. Being able to play it every year as part of our pathway is hugely important for our players’ development."
The Espoirs team - the missing step between U19s and seniors
The other key part of the structure is the Espoirs team, created at the club’s initiative in September 2024. Now the academy’s central team, it plays a vital role as a gateway to the professional game, strengthening the link with Luis Enrique’s squad by giving young players the right development conditions and playing time, from U16 level through to U23.
"This team was created in the summer of 2024, but the thinking behind it had begun much earlier," Cabaye explains. "We wanted to solve two problems. The first was the transition to the professional game. There was a fairly significant gap between the U19s and the senior squad.
"Some players needed more time and more competition to continue their development, while others were more ready to step up and move closer to the highest level. So the idea was to provide an extra stage for those who needed it. The second issue was playing time. This third team allows all the academy players to get minutes.
"When we only had U17 and U19 teams, the U16 players barely played. In recent years, they have benefited from much more playing time."
Everything is built around continuity. The U19s and Espoirs work closely together, thanks to constant communication between their coaches, Jean-Francois Vulliez and Thomas Leyssales. The idea is for every player to be monitored over time, without disruption or any loss of information when moving from one age group to another.
A shared vision, from president Nasser al-Khelaifi to the Campus
At the Campus, the first team’s Champions League campaigns over the past two seasons have acted as a driving force. Seeing the club perform at the highest level in Europe gives meaning to the daily work: the objective becomes concrete and tangible. The young players can picture themselves there and understand the level of commitment required to make it.
That success is built on a shared vision, championed by the president, sporting adviser Luis Campos, head coach Luis Enrique and Cabaye. The Campus itself is the key, according to the latter: "The advantage today is the Campus. We need to put it back at the centre of the discussion: creating this working environment, with the president’s vision, allows us to stay close and develop a shared sporting vision. The proximity Luis Campos and I have regarding what happens at the academy is essential in giving the project consistency."
The two men speak daily, in addition to holding formal meetings about the next steps and the players. Cabaye’s role is that of a scout: "My role is to flag up the profiles that deserve to be watched and given attention. It is about understanding whether a particular player is capable of occasionally ‘knocking on the door’ of the senior squad and showing what he can do."
"The Youth League plays a specific role here: it also allows Luis to see the players in a setting other than the U19 league and understand whether they can perform under pressure and make the transition to the professional game.
"I share with him the profiles of players who have shown very strong progress, a great desire to learn and work, and real personality on the pitch without seeking attention off it. It is a combination of things: we are trying to make the three-part project work every day. A working relationship built on trust has developed between Luis and me."
This continuity also relies on behind-the-scenes work between the various staff departments: video analysts, data analysts, nutritionists, fitness coaches and medical teams. Everyone contributes their expertise to the players’ development. Cabaye is keen to mention one person, Olivier Gagne, the assistant director of Professional Football: "This connection allows us to exchange information about the players in both directions. It is very important for the academy project."
The connection between PSG’s senior and youth teams has never been stronger. And it shows no sign of slowing down. For Wednesday evening’s meeting with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, two players are part of Luis Enrique’s squad: Quentin Ndjantou and Adam Mouak. If either of them gets playing time, it will once again send a powerful message to the academy.
