Betting on Paris Saint-Germain FC

Betting on PSG has become increasingly popular in recent years because you simply cannot ignore the club. After all, Paris Saint-Germain is one of the best and richest clubs in Europe – with ditto purchasing policies. It wasn’t always that way however. We dive into the history and future of Paris pride. Look at where the odds are when you bet on Paris Saint-Germain!

Betting on PSG | A club with a great history!

Paris Saint-Germain is not as old as other current top clubs in Europe such as FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Liverpool and Bayern Munich. In just under a decade, the club has reached the same current level. The origins of the club go back to 1970, when some businessmen wanted to start a big football club in the French capital Paris.

They did so by merging two clubs: Paris FC and Stade Saint-Germain. Paris FC was actually just a ‘virtual club’ because it was founded in 1969. Stade Saint-Germain dated back to 1904, but was never really successful. They did have the facilities, while the money was with Paris FC.

However, the businessmen struggled to make the merger financially viable. Based on the advice of Real Madrid president Santiago Bernabéu, they started a crowdfunding and got it done. On 12 August 1970, Paris Saint-Germain was born – and with it, betting on PSG.

Relegation from Ligue 1 by penalty

In their first full season in the French Ligue 1 (1971-1972), Paris Saint-Germain finished in 16th place out of 20 clubs. This put them above the relegation line. The club was in financial distress however. The Paris city council offered 850,000 francs to help, but asked that the club name be renamed Paris Football Club.

President and co-founder Guy Crescent was in favour, but co-founder Henri Patrelle was against. Crescent therefore gave the chairmanship to Patrelle. The latter tried to talk the city council down, but was unsuccessful.

The conflict led to a split of the club. Crescent formed Paris FC again and remained in the Ligue 1 with financial backing. Patrelle and Paris Saint-Germain were relegated to the Ligue 3 for punishment, losing their professional status.

Back to Ligue 1 with famous shirts

PSG managed to return to the highest level as soon as possible. In 1972-73, they promoted to the Ligue 2 via a second-place finish. In June 1973, fashion designer Daniel Hechter became chairman of the board and designed PSG’s now-famous shirts. He also appointed Just Fontaine as coach, the man responsible for 13 goals at the 1958 World Cup.

Under his leadership, PSG immediately advanced to the Ligue 1. Ironically, that promotion coincided with Paris FC’s relegation from the Ligue 1. Paris Saint-Germain also took over the Parc des Princes stadium from Paris FC at that time.

From 1973-1974, Paris Saint-Germain also put up some handsome cup runs in the Coupe de France. The club successively reached the quarter-finals, semi-finals and quarter-finals again. Back then, betting on PSG was especially lucrative with cup bets.

In early 1978, however, came the next scandal. Chairman Hechter was suspended for life for ticket price scams. His vice-chairman Francis Borelli took over.

First prizes PSG won in Coupe de France and Ligue 1

In November 1979, Georges Peyroche was appointed coach. Under his leadership, PSG became a regular force in the left-row of the Ligue 1. In 1982, he reached the final of the Coupe de France with Paris Saint-Germain. In the final, the club faced the great Saint-Étienne. The 1980-1981 national champion with Michel Platini and former Ajax player Johnny Rep in the team, among others.

PSG took the lead, but Michel Platini scored the equaliser 15 minutes before time. In the extension, Platini scored again and blanked PSG to lose. In the final seconds of the match, however, Dominique Rocheteau made it 2-2. PSG fans stormed the pitch and only after half an hour could the match continue with penalties. The first 10 penalties were hit. Then Saint-Étienne missed and PSG hit, winning the club its first top prize.

The following season went extremely well for the club. They won the Coupe de France again. They finished third in the Ligue 1 and reached the quarterfinals of the European Cup Winners’ Cup. After a lost cup final in 1984-85, the first national title with dominance followed in the 1985-86 season. With such successes, you had another certainty: betting on PSG became increasingly popular.

Reinvigorated with Canal+

As rapidly as Paris Saint-Germain became successful, so too did they decline. A season after the title, they finished seventh and lost in the European Cup to the puny Vitkovice of the Czech Republic. Another season later, they avoided relegation on the last matchday and PSG finished 15th.

There was a small revival in 1988-89, when they finished just second in the Ligue 1 behind Olympique Marseille. Betting on Paris Saint-German will have generated quite a lot of swearing at the time. Nothing more infuriating than a team performing inconsistently.

In 1991, PSG suddenly became one of France’s richest clubs after being taken over by television giant Canal+. The club needed to quickly compete for the national title again and qualify for the European Cup (later Champions League).

The club brought in coach Artur Jorge, who led FC Porto to a European Cup win in 1987. Additionally, there were some top players arriving like Ricardo and Valdo from Brazil, Frenchman Paul le Guen and George Weah from Liberia.

Rivalry with Olympique Marseille

In the 1992-93 season, PSG were competing for the title again. This time with Olympique Marseille, which had already won the national championship four times in a row. This also gave birth to Le Classique, the match between the two clubs.

Marseille won the title in 1993 and also the first Champions League. However, that same season, Marseille were found guilty of a bribery scandal. Namely, they had bribed Valenciennes and their national title was taken away from them by the French league.

The association then offered the national title and Champions League placement to PSG. Owner Canal+ refused however, fearing angry subscribers in and around Marseille. As a result, Ligue 1 number three AS Monaco went to the Champions League.

Successful 1990s Paris Saint-Germain

At least Canal+ did get ‘what it paid for’. The 1990s were to be a golden period for Paris Saint-Germain. The club became national champions in 1994 and until 1999 won the Coupe de France twice, the Coupe de la Ligue twice and the Trophée des Champions twice.

PSG also did great in Europe. They reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, Europa Cup II and Champions League between 1993 and 1995. In 1996, the club also took its first ever European top prize. PSG settled in the European Cup Winners’ Cup successively with Molde, Celtic, Parma, Deportivo La Coruña and, in the final, Rapid Wien.

This happened under legendary coach Luis Fernandez. In 1997, the club reached the final again, but lost to FC Barcelona through a goal by Ronaldo. Betting on PSG had briefly regained its familiar lustre.

From Canal+ to Qatar Sports Investments

In the early 2000s, however, Paris Saint-Germain sank back down, after a lot of mismanagement. Even players like Ronaldinho and Pauleta could not turn the tide. Therefore, in 2008, Canal+ also bid farewell as investors. Three years later, however, fans could look forward to renewed top times. Qatar Sports Investments took over the club and pumped many petrodollars into PSG.

In 2011-2012, PSG already finished second in the Ligue 1 and from 2012-2013, the club won eight titles in 10 seasons. Top players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Maxwell, Thiago Silva, Edinson Cavani celebrated award after award for seasons.

Besides those eight league titles, PSG also won the Coupe de France six times, the Coupe de la Ligue six times and the Trophée des Champions eight times in ten years. In France, there was no stopping PSG. Something you naturally saw reflected in the odds when you went to bet on Paris Saint-Germain.

Chasing Champions League with Mbappé, Neymar and Messi

All those French prizes naturally get dull, so PSG went in search of the holy grail: the Champions League. They bought their way around. Kylian Mbappé from AS Monaco, Neymar and Lionel Messi from FC Barcelona (what transfers!), Ángel di Maria from Manchester United, Keylor Navas from Real Madrid.

Since 2012-2013, PSG qualified for the knockout phase of the Champions League each time. In 2019-2020, the club came awfully close to the top prize, but Bayern Munich were too strong in the final (goal by former PSG player Kingsley Coman).

A season later, the semi-final was the final against Manchester City. Paris Saint-Germain’s main objective in the coming years will remain the same: to win the big cup! Betting on PSG with the billion-dollar ball will therefore continue to provide the most fun bets.

Betting on PSG | Clubiconen Paris Saint-Germain

PSG has had and still has fantastic footballers, but who has made a lasting impression? In the successful 1980s, they included Jean-Marc Pilgoret (record holder with 435 games), Safet Susic and the aforementioned Dominique Rocheteau and Luis Fernandez. The latter was also very successful as coach of the club in the mid-1990s. Further key players in the 1990s were Paul le Guen, Bernard Lama and Daniel Bravo.

Between 2000 and 2010, there were hardly any prizes, but Ronaldinho and Pauleta were the trendsetters. Over the past decade, I am sure you can list more names. We will help however with this wonderful list: Marco Verratti, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Edinson Cavani, Blaise Matuidi, Angel di Maria, Thiago Motta, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kylian Mbappé, Neymar and, of course, Lionel Messi.

Betting on PSG | Rivals Paris Saint-Germain

In the French Ligue 1, Olympique Marseille is Paris Saint-Germain’s biggest rival. Those two clubs play Le Classique together against each other. In recent years however, AS Monaco has also been a formidable opponent.

In the Champions League, one can mention a rivalry with FC Barcelona, but also with ‘the other oil club’ Manchester City. It is a certainty that you are going to encounter those clubs again on your betting sheet if you bet on PSG in the Champions League.

Betting on PSG | Looking back at Paris Saint-Germain season 2021/2022

Last season, Paris Saint-Germain recaptured the national title from Lille, who surprisingly became champions in 2020-2021. Kylian Mbappé became top scorer with 28 goals, Neymar scored 13 goals and Lionel Messi 11. In the Champions League, PSG was eliminated in the eighth final by Real Madrid. The Coupe de France also ended early, in the eighth final. Lille was superior in the Trophée des Champions.

Betting on PSG | Looking ahead at Paris Saint-Germain season 2022/2023

Super trio Kylian Mbappé, Neymar and Lionel Messi are still at the club. We do however hear more and more stories that Kylian Mbappé and Neymar might not like each other. The question is to what extent that will affect the team. It is up to Christophe Galtier to keep the superstars in check. He was the one who cleverly made Lille champion in the Ligue 1 in 2020-2021. The club also bought a number of young players from Portugal, Spain, Italy and Germany, but no big names.

The French league seems to be apples-to-apples, but the question is how it will fare in the Champions League. In any case, with Benfica and Juventus in the group stage, it is already a tough start. How far will they get and what can betting on PSG bring next season?