Paris Saint-Germain has been home to some of the world’s best central, defensive, attacking, and wide midfielders, including one who’d go on to become one of the club’s best-ever managers.
Keeping the much more attack-minded forwards we’d term as wingers for the strikers piece, here is the list of the greatest PSG midfielders of all time.
Safet Sušić (1982-1991)
Just before the money started to flow into Paris Saint-Germain, Safet Sušić had earned himself the title of not only being PSG’s greatest player of all time, but also Ligue 1’s greatest foreign-born player.
That was in 2010, as determined by France Football, and to this day, the legacy of Safet Sušić certainly upholds this vaunted perception of the attacking midfielder.
A legend of the former Yugoslavia, having switched from FK Sarajevo, in what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina, to Sporting Gijón for a handful of months, Paris Saint-Germain had seen enough to bring Sušić to France.
He was pivotal in PSG’s first run of success. In the 1982/83 campaign, Sušić’s first, the midfielder scored 15 goals and set up seven more in 36 games, with four of those goals coming in the club’s second Coupe de France triumph.
In 1985/86, he scored ten goals in 37 games to buoy PSG to their first-ever Ligue 1 title. Over his nine years at the club, he never failed to impress on the ball, finishing with 85 goals across his 345 games.
Just as it was in 2010, Safet Sušić remains the greatest Paris Saint-Germain midfielder of all time.
Raí (1993-1998)
One of the first true international superstars to don the Paris Saint-Germain colours, for less than £3 million in 1993, the club brought Brazilian attacking midfielder Raí from São Paulo.
A true midfield maestro and the younger brother of Sócrates, while his eye for a pass was top-tier, so was his ability to pick up the ball, take on defenders, and fire powerful shots into the back of the net.
Then 28-years-old and established, he helped to spur the French capital club to only their second league title in its history. From there, his play powered PSG to the Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue, and European success.
In 1994/95, Raí and the team went all the way to the Semi-Finals of the Champions League, and the following season, he was instrumental in the club’s UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup triumph.
He arrived in his prime and delivered as such. With a final haul of 72 goals and eight assists in 215 games, and in helping the club to hoist seven trophies, Raí gets to rank as one of the greatest Paris Saint-Germain midfielders of all time.
Marco Verratti (2012-2023)
Standing 5’5’’, Marco Verratti brought a composed and controlling presence to the Paris Saint-Germain midfield for over a decade. While highly rated as a youngster at Pescara, PSG picked up the Italian for a mere £8 million.
The Italian utilised his low centre of gravity particularly well, being tough to dispossess while also being happy to show off his tight footwork and dribbling skills.
Verratti swiftly made himself a useful player in the increasingly star-studded squad, eventually becoming one of the undisputed starting XI central midfielders.
Just as capable of shutting down opposing moves as he was setting up attacks, the Italian ended his PSG career with 416 appearances, 11 goals, and 61 assists.
It should also be noted that Verratti’s aggression off of the ball also landed him a rather handsome total of 132 yellow cards.
When he left the club, Verratti was second only to Jean-Marc Pilorget – one of PSG’s best ever defenders – for appearances. He cost Al-Arabi £40 million, but hasn’t quite been enough to pull them up in the betting odds.
Blaise Matuidi (2011-2017)
Easily one of the most consistent and reliable holding midfielders of his generation, Blaise Matuidi was among the first additions to the squad following the Qatari takeover.
Earmarked as Claude Makélélé’s heir-apparent for his gritty, hard-tackling performances with Saint-Étienne, Matuidi would work tirelessly as the defence-minded engine of the PSG midfield for years to come.
Before Juventus swooped in to grab the Frenchman in 2017, he’d accumulated 295 games for the Parisians. Most impressively, despite his very physical style, Matuidi only picked up one sending off, which was a double-yellow.
Throw in that he also contributed 30 goals and 30 assists en route to winning Ligue 1 five times, Coupe de France three times, Coupe de la Ligue four times, and Trophée des Champions four times, and it’s clear that Matuidi’s reign in Parisian blue ranks him among the greatest PSG midfielders of all time.
Ronaldinho (2001-2003)
His time in the French capital was brief, but it was certainly impactful. With Grêmio, Ronaldinho had swiftly earned a reputation in Brazil as an incredibly exciting and talented attacking talent.
So, PSG decided to roll the dice on bringing this much-hyped Brazilian up-and-comer to European football. The gamble paid off and then some for the club and the player.
Deployed primarily in attacking midfield, but sometimes off of the left side, Ronaldinho’s incredible skill on the ball left opponents in awe as he dribbled around countless would-be tacklers.
In just 77 games, the tricky midfielder racked up 25 goals and 19 assists, putting himself right in the conversation as one of the most talented young attacking talents in the sport.
In 2003, when Paris Saint-Germain weren’t the financial powerhouse that they are today, FC Barcelona outbid Manchester United to pay a mighty fee of €30 million and propel Ronaldinho to the Ballon d’Or.
His time in Paris may not have yielded any silverware, but Ronaldinho put PSG back on the map, making the French club must-watch every week, while he himself became a hot favourite to score in the Ligue 1 betting each week.
The sheer talent of Ronaldinho and how the club managed to be the ones to discover and cultivate him for European football helps to secure the Brazilian’s place among the greatest PSG midfielders of all time.
