A blistering 4-0 demolition of Real Madrid has fired PSG into the FIFA Club World Cup final, where Chelsea now stand between them and an unprecedented clean sweep of every major trophy in the 2025 season, according to the French news agency AFP.
Now as they prepare to contest Sunday’s Club World Cup final, the French champions must carefully juggle pursuit of glory with managing their energy reserves after a marathon season that has pushed the limits of endurance.
A year in comeptition
“Our season began on 14 July 2024. If we make it to the final here, we’ll have had a 365-day season,” head coach Luis Enrique told AFP, highlighting the extraordinary physical and mental demands placed on his side.
Although Enrique has publicly backed this expanded global tournament, he has also used recent weeks to draw attention to the overloaded fixture schedule faced by elite players.
The notion of a full calendar year spent in competition starkly illustrates the scale of effort invested by the PSG squad and staff.
Everyone within the club has repeatedly expressed their desire to “make history” by adding the Club World Cup to an already dazzling list of honours collected this season: the Champions League, Ligue 1, Coupe de France, and the Trophée des Champions. Yet the question lingers – how much more can this team give?
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Despite their motivation and Wednesday’s emphatic 4-0 semi-final dismantling of Real Madrid, the signs of fatigue are increasingly visible.
“At this point in the season, things are getting a bit more difficult,” admitted midfielder Fabián Ruiz, who scored twice in that match. Earlier in the tournament, Vitinha openly criticised the relentless pace, saying, “You can see the fatigue.”
Balancing act
PSG are also well aware of what awaits once the curtain comes down on this campaign. On 13 August, they face Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Super Cup in Udine.
With pre-season training scheduled soon after the final in New Jersey, most players will receive no more than three weeks off – a meagre break for a team expected to hit the ground running once again.
Although the Super Cup is not the most prestigious of trophies, PSG will be under pressure to win it and extend their dominance. Days later, they are back on the road to face Nantes in Ligue 1, meaning two away trips in quick succession.
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More broadly, they must now defend every title earned in this historic season, including the Champions League, where they will be the team to beat. Complicating matters further, the 2025-26 club season will be compacted to accommodate the 2026 World Cup in June, intensifying an already punishing schedule.
To safeguard against burnout, the PSG hierarchy and Enrique’s staff have focused heavily on load management. Throughout the campaign, key players have been rested strategically – even when in top form – as part of a long-term plan to protect their fitness.
Enrique revealed that he and his staff have tracked every player’s minutes with forensic detail, aiming to distribute playing time as evenly as possible. But, as he said in February: “It’s like a game of Tetris. You can plan everything, and then two players fall ill or someone gets suspended. You need flexibility. We’re managing minutes, but it’s never easy.”
Recharging on the road
Following their Champions League semi-final second leg against Arsenal, PSG allowed seven regular starters to sit out the weekend trip to Montpellier.
Ousmane Dembélé, despite being in the form of his life, was rested frequently from Ligue 1 duty in the latter stages of the campaign.
During the Club World Cup, squad rotation was only seriously attempted in the match against Botafogo – a game PSG lost 1-0 in a flat performance. However, in a departure from usual protocol, the club chose to give players their afternoons off after morning training sessions at their base in Irvine, California.
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This relaxed approach has been welcomed by the squad. “Thank you to the coach and the club,” said goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who appreciated the opportunity to unwind with beach visits and shopping trips to help “relax and win”.
Earlier this week, the team relocated from New Jersey to central Manhattan, where players like Joao Neves were seen enjoying the city with family, capturing moments on social media amid the buzz of Times Square.
Now, PSG find themselves on the verge of completing a perfect season – five trophies from five – and writing themselves into the annals of football history. But as the final approaches, the focus is as much on recuperation and mental freshness as it is on tactics.
