A Closer Look at PSG’s Portuguese Phenoms | OneFootball

Whisper it softly, but Paris Saint-Germain are finally starting to wake up. After sleepwalking through the first half of the campaign, Les Parisiens have managed to find their mojo after winning five of their last six matches in all competitions. Having trailed RC Lens for significant portions of the Ligue 1 campaign, PSG have managed to put some breathing distance between them and Les Sang et Or.

Luis Enrique’s side sit atop the Ligue 1 table, four points above Lens, and while they will not be repeating their Coupe de France dominance after being eliminated by Paris FC, they nevertheless find themselves on course for another deep European run. Having navigated a tricky knockout tie vs. AS Monaco, PSG will now be looking to avenge their FIFA Club World Cup Final defeat and brush past defending Conference League winners Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16.

Read the full article by subscribing to Ensemble PSG on Substack

If PSG are to make it through to the quarterfinals, they’ll need their Portuguese quartet—João Neves, Gonçalo Ramos, Nuno Mendes, and Vitinha—to deliver the goods. Just how important are PSG’s Portuguese players, and will they have prominent roles in this upcoming FIFA World Cup? We spoke to Benfica’s Ricardo Neto in an exclusive PSG Talk interview.

Born on August 26, 2008, Neto joined Benfica’s world-renowned academy in 2018 and ascended through the ranks for club and country, winning the U-15 national championship in 2022-23, the U-17 Second Division National Championship in 2023-24, and the National Championship with the ‘Juvenis’ in 2024-25. He’s made 26 international caps for Portugal, and last year, he wrote himself into the history books for the Seleção. Having led Portugal to victory at the 2025 UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Albania, the teenage center back then headed to Qatar and helped Portugal win the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup. It was just the third World Cup that Portugal had won at the male or female level, having previously won the U-20 World Cup (then called the FIFA World Youth Championship) in 1989 and 1991.

Although he idolizes Manchester City’s Rúben Dias, a center back just like him, Neto has found inspiration in the plethora of Seixal products who are excelling in Europe’s upper echelon, such as João Cancelo, Bernardo Silva, João Neves, and Gonçalo Ramos. “I like Gonçalo Ramos for what he did at Benfica. The fact that he helped Benfica a lot in many games and brought titles to Benfica…I think that in the near future, he will be able to help Portugal and be the starting center forward for our national team.”

Continue reading by subscribing to Ensemble PSG on Substack