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Paris has everything: stunning architecture and arguably the best food and fashion in the world. But the French capital lacks one essential element of a modern metropolis – it has no football rivalry.
Despite Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) spending vast sums in recent years assembling a team featuring superstars such as Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, and the club reaching this season’s Champions League semi-finals, the city has never truly been a football crucible.
Yet the Paris region is probably the world’s hottest football talent factory.
Twenty-nine players from the greater Paris area went to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, including 11 members of the France squad that reached the final, with others representing the likes of Portugal, Cameroon, Tunisia, Senegal and Morocco.
But Paris, the biggest urban area in the European Union with a population more than 12 million, has had only one club in France’s top division – PSG – since Racing Paris were relegated 35 years ago.
London has seven clubs in the Premier League, while Madrid, Milan, Rome, Barcelona and Athens all boast multiple top-tier teams.