PSG Faces Challenges After Champions League Triumph

Sixty-seven days after lifting the Champions League for the second time in their history, Paris Saint-Germain stepped back onto the pitch and were handed a sharp jolt of reality.

A 3-0 defeat to Real Mallorca – a side freshly relegated to Spain’s second division – is not the kind of restart any European champion expects, even with a half-strength squad and heavy legs from pre-season conditioning. The scoreline stung, and it underlined what the club already knew: this squad is still under construction.

A large chunk of PSG’s internationals were missing, but the excuses end there. The club hierarchy is deep into the market, and the performance only adds urgency to a recruitment drive that has been bubbling for weeks.

A Market in Motion

Two names are already hovering at the gates of the Parc des Princes. Lucas Digne, the former Parisian left-back, and Magnes Akliouche are both close to joining, even if the club has yet to make either move official. The message is clear: the champions of Europe are not standing still.

Behind them, more complex dossiers are grinding forward. PSG are working on deals for goalkeeper Zion Suzuki from Parma and versatile attacker Mika Godts from Ajax. Neither negotiation is straightforward, and neither is close enough to call done, but both underline a strategy aimed at adding depth and competition across the pitch.

And then another name dropped into the frame.

Malo Gusto: Luxury or Necessity?

According to English outlet The Sun, PSG have set their sights on Chelsea right-back Malo Gusto. At 23, born in Décines-Charpieu and formed at Olympique Lyonnais, he fits the profile Paris often crave: young, French, technically sharp, and already hardened by top-level football.

Chelsea paid 35 million euros for him in 2023, and he has not exactly hidden in the shadows since. Last season he played 49 matches in all competitions, scoring 3 goals and supplying 5 assists. His rise earned him a place in the France squad for the 2026 World Cup, another marker of his growing status.

He is not short of admirers. Manchester City, also hunting a right-back this summer, had placed him on their shortlist. Chelsea, for their part, have not closed the door on a sale.

The problem is the number. Gusto’s valuation stands at around 87 million euros. For a player viewed as a potential alternative, not an automatic starter, that figure bites. Even for PSG, there is a line between ambition and excess.

Luis Enrique’s Calculus

Inside Paris, the Gusto file is being studied carefully. The Sun reports that his attributes appeal strongly to PSG, and especially to Luis Enrique, who has given his approval to the idea of bringing him in as cover and competition for Achraf Hakimi.

That detail matters. Enrique has shown he values full-backs who can step into midfield, press high, and handle the ball under pressure. Gusto ticks many of those boxes. He is aggressive, energetic, and comfortable advancing play – a modern right-back built for high-tempo football.

Yet this was never supposed to be a priority area for PSG this summer. Hakimi remains a cornerstone, and Warren Zaïre-Emery’s impressive performances when asked to fill in on the right had eased any sense of panic. The teenager’s emergence offered an internal solution, one that aligned perfectly with the club’s desire to lean more on its own talents.

Chasing Gusto at a premium price cuts across that logic. It would be a statement, but also a gamble.

Chelsea Ready, PSG Hesitant

What is certain is that Chelsea are open for business. The London club’s willingness to listen to offers has only increased since Marco Balestra’s arrival at Stamford Bridge, a move that adds another layer of competition on the flanks and nudges Gusto closer to the exit door.

In France, though, the possibility of him landing in Paris has not been confirmed. No agreement, no green light, just a live conversation and a lot of financial arithmetic.

For PSG, the question is simple and brutal: is a potential backup to Hakimi worth close to 87 million euros in a window where other gaps still need filling?

The Champions League trophy is in the cabinet. The 3-0 loss to Real Mallorca is on the record. Between those two realities lies the truth of this PSG squad – and whether a bold move for Malo Gusto becomes a luxury they embrace, or one they decide they can live without.