Paris Saint-Germain

 It was founded on August 12, 1970, thanks to the merger of Paris FC  (a pool of financial investors) and Stade Saint-Germain. After 20,000 subscriptions from individuals desperate to see an elite football club in Paris, a group of local businessmen, led by Guy Crescent, CEO of Calberson and Pierre-Étienne Guyot, Vice-president of RCF Paris, asked the directors of Stade Sangermanois to become part of their project. The creation of Paris Saint-Germain F.C. marked the reappearance of a major club in Paris after the decline of Racing Paris, Red Star, Stade Français  and CA Paris.   The club's motto is "Paris Est Magique" (Paris Is Magic). The official PSG anthem is Allez Paris Saint-Germain by Les Parisiens.

Paris Saint-Germain has been playing in the Ligue 1 since 1974, the current championship record. The capital club is one of the most prestigious outfits in French football having won two Ligue 1 titles, seven Coupes de France, a record three Coupes de la Ligue and two Trophées des Champions. PSG is, with Olympique de Marseille, the only French club to have won a European competition, claiming the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1996.

The club's stadium is the Parc des Princes, the third largest stadium in France with a capacity of 48,713 seats. It has been Paris Saint-Germain's stadium since 1974.  The Camp des Loges has been operating as a training center for the club since 1974 .  On April 11, 2006, the club was bought by a consortium comprising American investment company Colony Capital, French investment company, Butler Capital Partners, and American investment bank, Morgan Stanley. On 30 June 2009, Colony Capital acquired all the shares of Morgan Stanley, becoming owners of the 95% of the club

Paris SG's traditional colours are a blue shirt with a red central vertical bar framed by white edgings. It was designed by fashion designer Daniel Hechter, who collaborated with the club to design the iconic shirt which would become a strong symbol of the club. This shirt was first used between 1973 and 1974 in Division 2.  The current badge was adopted in 2002. The logo consists of a red silhouette of the Eiffel Tower with the royal white cradle of Louis XIV underneath it and a blue background.

Paris Saint-Germain enjoys a considerable amount of popularity; about 11% of French population support the club. PSG is the second most popular football club in France after Olympique de Marseille. Their average home gate for the 2008–09 season was 40,902, the second highest in the Ligue 1.PSG fans are known as Les Parisiens. The club shares an intense rivalry with Olympique de Marseille and contest the most notorious football match in France, known as Le Classique.

As of September 2009, Paris Saint-Germain is the third richest club in France after Marseille and Lyon. The club was also one of the 14 founder members of the now-defunct G-14 group of the leading European football clubs and is member of its modern replacement, the European Club Association. The club also operates a reserve team, Paris Saint-Germain FC (res.), and a female section since 1971.

In 1994, Paris Saint-Germain was ranked 1st in the Club World Ranking made by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics. The capital club is the only French club to ever achieve this honor. From 1994 to 1998, PSG finished in the top ten of Club World Ranking. As of 31 January, 2010, the club is ranked 83rd. PSG was also ranked 1st in the UEFA coefficient of Top Clubs in 1998. PSG is also the only French club to ever achieve this honor.

The last two seasons may have tested the patience of the fans, but Paris Saint-Germain remain one of the most prestigious outfits in French football. Along with Stade de Reims, AS Saint-Étienne, Olympique de Marseille and Girondins de Bordeaux, the capital side have at times captured the imagination of the entire country. Despite currently being Ligue 1's longest tenants after an uninterrupted 35-year spell, PSG are one of the top flight's youngest teams in absolute terms. Compared to 136-year-old veterans Le Havre AC, 129-year-old Bordeaux or even 109-year-old Marseille, the Parc des Princes side are relative adolescents, in fact. Established on 12 August 1970 after a merger between Stade Saint-Germain and a group of investors united under the banner of virtual club Paris FC, PSG have always represented both Paris and nearby Saint-Germain-en-Laye. And with so many people eager to see a big club wearing the capital's colours once again, the nascent team grew at a stunning pace early on. Top-tier status was attained within four years and by the end of the 70's, Les Rouge-et-Bleu were ready to embark upon a historic decade. With charismatic presidents Daniel Hechter and, later, Francis Borelli setting the tone, the likes of Carlos Bianchi, Mustapha Dahleb, Safet Sušić and Luis Fernández became the club's first stars, followed closely behind by its first titles. PSG tasted French Cup honours in 1982 and 1983, before capturing their first league crown in 1986 - breakthroughs that opened the doors to Europe and some memorable encounters, particularly with Juventus in 1983 and 1989.

As significant as those successes were, however, the 90's proved even more fruitful, with PSG entering a golden age after television giants Canal+ bought the club in May 1991. Now enjoying serious investment, the capital outfit were able to set their sights steadily higher. Two seasons later, Le Parc welcomed back UEFA Cup football in what would prove to be an unforgettable campaign given the calibre of opponent: PAOK, Napoli, Anderlecht and Real Madrid all fell by the wayside before PSG once again succumbed to their bête noire (Black Beast), Juventus, in the last four. That defeat notwithstanding, the club were on the move and between 1992 and 1998 they contested two UEFA Cup Winners' Cup finals – winning in 1996 – reached the UEFA Champions League semi-finals once and twice advanced to the same stage of the UEFA Cup. On the domestic scene, results were just as satisfying, with PSG celebrating another Ligue 1 title, three Coupe de France, two Coupe de la Ligue and just as many Trophée des Champions wins. At the time, the players lighting up Le Parc were also mainstays of their national sides. Bernard Lama, Alain Roche, Paul Le Guen, Vincent Guérin, David Ginola and Youri Djorkaeff all enjoyed stints with France, while Ricardo, Valdo, Raí and Leonardo were regulars for Brazil. But perhaps the greatest talent of all was prolific Liberian marksman George Weah, who followed in the footsteps of PSG's many fine strikers by firing 55 goals in 138 games.

To the considerable chagrin of the club's supporters, PSG have never threatened to hit those same heights since. Three more trophies have been landed and the Parc des Princes faithful got to marvel at the likes of Marco Simone, Jay-Jay Okocha, Nicolas Anelka, Ronaldinho, Gabriel Heinze, Juan Pablo Sorín, Mario Yepes and Pauleta, but crisis has never lain far away. Indeed, the last two seasons were spent staving off relegations that were only very narrowly avoided. In recent seasons, PSG's form has slipped from 9th position in 2004–05 and in 2005–06. In 2006–07, they did not impress, failing to reach either cup final and finishing 15th in the league, just three places from relegation. Installed in January 2007, coach Paul Le Guen has made it his mission to rebuild PSG following their sale by Canal+. Some astute summer trading brought proven campaigners Claude Makélélé, Ludovic Giuly and Mateja Kežman to the capital, and they have added their experience to a young and humble core of players including Mamadou Sakho, Clément Chantôme, Younousse Sankharé and Guillaume Hoarau. But the club continued to lose momentum in the league eventually finishing in 16th position, just three points above the relegation zone. It nonetheless won the 2008 League Cup, and reached the French Cup final, losing 1-0 to Ligue 1 champions Lyon. In the 2008-09 season, although PSG finished 6th in the league and out of European action, the club regain fitness even getting to 2nd place in the table, reaching the semifinals in the Coupe de la Ligue and quarterfinals in the UEFA Cup. A great advance in comparison to the last two seasons, but not fully satisfying as in the last matches the club failed to match the heights because of political problems.