7 former PSG academy graduates who are currently thriving in 2024-25
PSG have a litany of former academy players at other clubs and a handful of them are currently living their best lives since leaving the French capital.
As Luis Enrique grapples with turning PSG into a European force in the post-Galactico era, several of their former players are faring even better since leaving the Ligue 1 champions.
We’ve identified seven PSG academy graduates who are currently loving life since moving to pastures new.
Kingsley Coman
Probably the biggest regret on this list, Coman left PSG as an 18-year-old on a free transfer to Juventus after making just four appearances in France, where he became the youngest ever player to play for the club when he was 16.
After just one season at Juventus, Coman joined Bayern Munich on an initial loan and then exploded into life.
Still in his late-20s, Coman has won pretty much everything on offer and scored the winner in the 2020 Champions League final…against PSG. Ouch.
Mike Maignan
Maignan never played a senior game for PSG and was released in 2015, but was quickly picked up by Lille as an 18-year-old.
He went on to make over 150 appearances for Lille, culminating in a shock Ligue 1 title in 2021, beating his former side to top spot.
Maignan then joined AC Milan as a direct replacement for PSG-bound Gianluigi Donnarumma and also replaced Hugo Lloris between the sticks for France.
He is considered one of the best goalkeepers in world football and another example of PSG’s stunted youth development policies.
Adrien Rabiot
Rabiot has spent the vast majority of his career with PSG and Juventus, while winning 48 caps for France, but it never feels like he gets the respect he deserves.
Having been released by Juve in 2024, the midfielder moved to Marseille and has made six appearances for the club this season.
But it’s with the national team that Rabiot has come into his own. Much maligned by fans of Les Blues, the 29-year-old has stepped up during a transitional period for Didier Deschamps’ team and scored two headers in the 3-1 Nations League win over Italy.
Fun fact: Rabiot became the first France player to score two headers in a single game since Zinedine Zidane in the 1998 World Cup final.
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Matteo Guendouzi
Guendouzi left PSG to join Lorient’s academy and impressed enough to earn a move to Arsenal in 2018.
The heightened intensity of the Premier League proved too soon for the Frenchman, but he’s since proven his worth in Ligue 1 and is a reliable member of Deschamps’ France squad.
In a position where PSG could have done with some character and industry, they could’ve done with Guendouzi’s ankle-biting presence.
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Ferland Mendy
Born in one of Paris’ endless banlieues, Mendy spent eight years in PSG’s academy as a youngster before eventually breaking through at Le Harve.
The full-back has spent the last five years at Real Madrid, lifting trophies on a regular basis and playing with some of the best players in the world.
Another PSG fumble.
Yacine Adli
A less-celebrated product of the PSG youth academy, Adli made his professional debut for the Parisians before moving to Bordeaux in 2019 in search of game time.
His performances in France’s wine country alerted AC Milan to his talents and Adli was thrilled moved to the Serie A giants in 2021.
“You don’t have to think about it for very long when Paolo Maldini calls you up to say that a great club like Milan wants you,” Adli said at the time.
“It is such a source of pride for me, considering where I came from. I just couldn’t have ever imagined something like this happening.”
The midfielder played 24 times for Milan last season, performing admirably in a defensive midfield role, but has got even better since joining Fiorentina on loan for the 2024-25 campaign.
La Viola, who are looking to win the UEFA Conference League after two successive defeats in the final, look more secure with Adli in midfield.
Fiorentina are currently sitting third in Italy and a single point behind Serie A leaders Napoli, all while Milan languish in seventh.
Mohamed-Ali Cho
Born in France to an Ivorian father and a French mother of Moroccan origin, Cho moved to England at one week old and made himself eligible for four countries at once.
That sound you can hear is FIFA’s administrators having a coughing fit.
The striker is both a youth product of PSG and Everton, but has spent his senior career playing for Angers, Real Sociedad and Nice without being prolific for any of them.
Saying that, Cho has three goals in 12 appearances for Nice in 2024-25 so perhaps he is about to blossom into a fine player after all.