Some of PSG’s individual player numbers are striking as the club prepares for another major European test. Captain Marquinhos started 14 Champions League matches this season, matching the total number of league appearances he made for Paris Saint-Germain across the domestic campaign. Between February 13 and April 19, the experienced Brazil defender did not play a single minute in Ligue 1, going seven straight league games as an unused substitute, yet he played every minute of PSG’s six Champions League matches during that same period.
The workload pattern was even more dramatic for some of PSG’s headline attackers. Ousmane Dembele, the Ballon d’Or holder, completed 90 minutes in Ligue 1 only once in 22 appearances. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia also finished a league match just twice in 28 outings. Dembele still won the Ligue 1 player-of-the-season award on May 12 for the second straight year, despite starting only 11 league games and appearing in 22 of a possible 34 before the award was handed out. He scored 10 goals and provided seven assists, although injuries forced him to miss 10 matches.
Luis Enrique’s heavy rotation policy has been a defining feature of PSG’s season. He used 28 players in Ligue 1, compared with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta’s 25 in the Premier League. That approach brought some drawbacks, but not enough to derail PSG’s overall campaign. Three of their six league defeats — against Marseille in September, Monaco in November and Lyon in April — came immediately after Champions League matches, suggesting the demands of balancing domestic and European football did have an impact.
Midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery led PSG in Ligue 1 minutes with 2,453, but six Arsenal players logged more than that in the Premier League. That comparison underlines the difference in physical demands between the two teams’ domestic schedules. The Premier League’s reputation as Europe’s strongest league is backed by UEFA’s association club coefficients, which place England’s top division first and Ligue 1 fifth. PSG’s season, however, was unusually long, with 58 matches in total as the club completed a four-trophy haul that included its first Champions League title. One of the highlights was a 3-1 aggregate semi-final win over Arsenal.
There is also a structural difference between the two leagues. Ligue 1 has only 18 teams, making its season four games shorter than the Premier League. Even so, Arsenal’s key players have clearly carried a heavy load. Goalkeeper David Raya played every minute of the campaign until he was rested on the final day against Crystal Palace after the title was secured. Declan Rice, William Saliba, Gabriel and Martin Zubimendi all started at least 30 league matches. For PSG, only Zaire-Emery can say the same, while Jurrien Timber, despite being injured since mid-March and a major doubt for the final, still played more minutes than him.
Of the 10 players with the most league minutes for either side this season, only two — Zaire-Emery and Illia Zabarnyi — belong to PSG.
