PSG can take solitude in final defeat

• PSG fell to Chelsea in the Club World Cup decider
• Despite the final result the Parisians impressed through the tournament
• Coaches, players and pundits alike praised their play in the States

“One of our goals is to make everyone fall in love with Paris Saint-Germain and the football we play.”

Those were the words of PSG forward Desire Doue on the eve of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ final. And while the French champions would have certainly set their sights on lifting the stunning trophy at New York New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, they can nonetheless look back on a tournament where their approach to the beautiful game won over a global audience.

Looking at it that way, it has been an outstanding tournament for the Parisian side which has put a seal on an incredible season in which they have earned hordes of new fans throughout the world. One barometer of their success is that Les Rouge-et-Bleu now boast over 150 official fan clubs, from Boston to Beirut and from Monterrey to Manaus.

During the Club World Cup, a PSG House popped up in the prestigious Melrose Avenue, allowing thousands of Californian PSG fans to get together and immerse themselves in their club’s culture and history. With 18 official fan clubs in the United States, the European champions almost filled out the Rose Bowl in Pasadena as a crowd of 80,619 showed up to watch their opener against Atlético de Madrid.

A few French fans had already made the trip for their team’s first fixture, including Ali, Lucas, Jean-Michel and Oussam, four friends who had come to Los Angeles for this “once in a lifetime” experience.

In New York – where PSG’s club shop on 5th Avenue is the only one dedicated to a European side – hundreds of fans flooded Times Square to get hyped for the final together. Although their team ultimately lost out, no-one will forget the quality of football they brought to the tournament.

Across the Atlantic, in France, even fans of bitter rivals Marseille couldn’t deny that this PSG side had something to them. “When you see a team playing like this, you just have to acknowledge it”, admitted Marseille superfan and tennis star Benoit Paire when he was interviewed by French radio station RMC after PSG’s Champions League triumph. “It’s painful to say this as a Marseille fan, but congratulations to them.”

The reactions from Spanish players and journalists following PSG’s 4-0 win over Real Madrid – their third such scoreline in the Club World Cup – told its own story. "He’s built a flawless football machine,” wrote Marca, making reference to PSG coach Luis Enrique. "DemPele dismantled Real Madrid in eight minutes," raved El Mundo Deportivo.

“We came up against an opponent in excellent form, who are playing at an incredibly high level. We were well beaten, just like everyone else”, admitted Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso. “They’re an amazing team, and if you give them too much space and time, they’ll punish you”, added goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

While the Parisians couldn’t quite get their well-oiled machine up and running against Chelsea, this result should take nothing away from the show that they put on throughout an epic tournament and the entire 2024/25 season.