PROFILE | Willian Pacho becomes the new leader at the heart of PSG’s defence | OneFootball

Marquinhos has been an ever-present in the backline for over a decade, but finding a centre-back partner has been a more difficult task. Thiago Silva was excellent in the role, but since Silva’s departure for Chelsea back in 2020, there have been plenty of moving parts. Sergio Ramos was a failed bet, Danilo was never of the level of a side looking to win the Champions League, Presnel Kimpembe was dogged by injury issues and the likes of Thilo Kehrer and Abdou Diallo, whilst good defenders, were imperfect. And at PSG, a club looking to win the biggest titles, year in, year out, perfection is a requirement. 

In Willian Pacho, they may have found that. He wasn’t a household name, did not arrive with the biggest reputation, but he has forged one at PSG. The 24-year-old arrived in the summer of 2024 from Eintracht Frankfurt in a reported €40m deal. The fee suggested that he would feature prominently for Luis Enrique’s side, but there was competition in his position, initially provided by Lucas Beraldo and then by Lucas Hernandez, a World Cup winner who returned to the fore towards the end of last season, following a severe knee injury. 

But throughout last season, Pacho’s status as a starter never once came into question. Over the course of the campaign, his first at the club, he made 57 appearances, 50 of which came as starts. He was indispensable and allayed fears of PSG’s post-Marquinhos era. When the Brazilian leaves, and he will, there is a new pillar of the defence to lean on and to build around.

Pacho ‘exudes’ leadership – Dina Ebmibe

Pacho’s strength is his quiet dominance. He isn’t the loudest player, he isn’t flashy, and unlike some central defenders, he is not an exceptional physical specimen. He is tidy on the ball, unspectacular but solid. His job is more to offload to one of his more expansive defensive partners (Nuno Mendes, most notably) or one of his midfielders, who often like to drop deep back into the defensive line to help build play and progress the ball through the thirds. 

Where he shines is in his ability to read the game, to cover large spaces that are often left behind Mendes, who is so effective surging forward. He has the pace to boot, too, which helps PSG to commit men forward, to be aggressive, to have a risky rest defence in the knowledge that their Ecuador international can be relied upon to sniff out and eliminate any danger.

It is those assurances that are so crucial in instilling confidence in his teammates on the ball, which allows them to take risks in their positioning and in their passing. And that is perhaps Pacho’s main contribution to this PSG side – the confidence and the freedom that his mere presence affords others. 

That was the case at Eintracht Frankfurt, too. “When he is there, he brings leadership straight away, not through words because he doesn’t speak a lot, but by what he exudes. He has vision, quality passing, he can defend 50/60 metres of space…,” said Éric Junior Dina Ebimbe, now at Stade Brestois, but who played with Pacho at Eintracht Frankfurt. 

A questionable Ballon d’Or absence

He continued, “With him, you know that the game will go well. There are fewer doubts. And he is someone who can play 50 matches in the season at the same level. At Frankfurt, our captain, Robin Koch, can thank him! If he became a Germany international, it is because they formed a great partnership.”

This season, Pacho has featured slightly less frequently, a result of the rotation policy that Luis Enrique has been forced to bring in, a result of a truncated pre-season, which has, despite the rotation, still led to plenty of injuries, most notably to Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué. 

But at the halfway point, he has still played 19 games in all competitions, with Luis Enrique keen to play the former Eintracht Frankfurt centre-back as much as possible, given the assurances that he provides. 

Despite his excellent season, his name was absent from the top 30 in the Ballon d’Or, a surprise given his centrality to a Champions League-winning side, but perhaps a reflection of the delay between performance and recognition for them. He wasn’t a household name, he arguably still isn’t now, but that recognition will come, as arbitrary and ultimately unimportant as that is.

Pacho set for new PSG deal

What is important is what he does on the pitch and his performances have PSG scrambling to conjure up a new deal. His current deal runs until the summer of 2028; Les Parisiens want to extend that deal for a further two years, and in that new deal, Pacho’s growing stature at the club will be reflected in his salary. 

There is an assumption that a positive conclusion is simply a matter of time. “I hope to announce good news soon,” said Pacho at the end of November. PSG have a habit of announcing contract extensions in batches, so there is a chance that the deal has already been signed. 

It would be good news for Pacho and for PSG. “I only have good things to say about him,” Luis Enrique recently said. And after 18 months, it is difficult to find one bad word for the Ecuadorian, who didn’t arrive to great fanfare, but who has shown that he is the future of PSG’s defence for years to come.

Alongside him, Marquinhos’ succession is being planned, with Ilia Zabarnyi coming in over the summer. The Ukraine international has not always convinced, in the same way that players brought in alongside Marquinhos in recent years have struggled to convince. But that shows the powershift, a slow powershift but a discernible one. It is Pacho – not Marquinhos, the ever-present for over a decade – who is now the technical leader at the heart of PSG’s defence. Based on his opening months at the Parc des Princes, there is no reason why Pacho can’t replicate the same levels of Marquinhos’ longevity and success.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle