Best Paris Saint-Germain Defenders of all time

PSG is a pretty unique side when compared to other football Powerhouses. Paris Saint Germain was founded in the latter decades of the 20th century, but they weren't among the greatest until the early years of the 21st when players like Ronaldinho's entrance helped put them on the map in football.

The actual transformation began when Qatari investors took over the club, and as a result of their wealth, PSG is now regarded as a truly huge club with a sizable global fan following.

Paris Saint-Germain has dominated domestic tournaments in recent years thanks to signing

and Neymar, Messi and Mbappe, some of the world's superstars.

It tells a lot about the Qataris' effect on the club's history as take their trophies into account; they had only won the league twice before the decade's beginning in 2010 and eight times after.

The Parisians had their finest season yet in 2020, winning the domestic double and making their first-ever appearance in the Uefa Champions League Final while defeating teams like Dortmund Atlanta, and Leipzig. They lost to Bayern Munich in the final game. 

With a look at the best players in the history of Paris Saint-Germaine, in this article we present you with the list of

best Paris Saint-Germain Defenders of all time.

Everything about the best Paris Saint-Germain defenders of all time

A look at the career, stats and achievement of the best Paris Saint-Germain Defenders of all time from their all-time record-holder in appearance, Jean-Marc Pilorget to their former Brazilian due Thiago Silva and Marquinhos.

Jean-Marc Pilorget

First player in the list of best Paris Saint-Germain Defenders of all time is the French former player and manager, Jean-Marc Pilorget.

 Born In April 1958, Jean-Marc Pilorget played the majority of his 16-year career in Paris Saint-Germaine and became the club all-time leader in appearance with an incredible 435 matches in all competitions.

 Pilorget joined the club in 1975, only five years after the establishment of

. He was the first leader of the club, despite not being able to win any titles in his beloved team. Pilorget played 435 games in his 14-year stay at the club. He also scored a total of 17 goals and made 20 assists as well. He is considered as one of the Best ever Paris Saint-Germain Defenders.

Pilorget left Paris in 1987 and joined three clubs in three years before retiring altogether in 1991. On the international level, Pilorget featured for

under 21 team in 1977, but never made it to the senior team in his career. 

He has been active as a manager in the French football in the past 30 years, leading teams like Romarantin and Cannes without notable success.

Sylvain Armand

Our next player in the list of best Paris Saint-Germain Defenders of all time is Sylvain Armand. A star in his country, Armand was born on August 1980. He started his career in 1999 with Clermont before joining Nantes the following year, where he enjoyed four memorable seasons and won one league title. He scored many important goals for

including his goal which won Nantes the 2001 Trophée des Champions as well his historic goal against Lazio in UCL after a solitary run on the left wing.

Armand heroic performances for Nantes caught the eyes of the Parisians and he joined PSG in 2004. After two difficult seasons, Armand reached his best form and was voted PSG player of the season in 2006-2007. Due to his incredible physicality, Armand was rarely injured and he missed only 8 games during his first four seasons at the club. Justifying his label as one of All-time Best Paris Saint-Germain Defenders.

Armand was a regular starter for every PSG manager in his last four seasons at the club. Overall he won one league title, two Coupe de France titles and one Coupe de la ligue in 2008. Armand left psg at 2013 and played hist last four seasons in Rennes before retiring at the end of 2016-2017 season.

With 380 games across all competitions, Sylvain Armand is the fourth all-time record holder for appearance in PSG history. In total he scored 12 goals and provided 16 assists in his beloved team.

Ricardo Gomes

The first Brazilian defender star in PSG history, Ricardo Gomes was born on December 1964. He started his career in

at 1982 before joining Benfica on a three-year deal. In 1991 Gomes joined Paris Saint-Germaine and in only four seasons, he wrote his name in the history of the club as one of the Best Paris Saint-Germain Defenders of all time.

Despite his relatively short spell at PSG, Gomes is considered among All-time Best Defenders at Paris Saint-Germain because he was the leader of the first golden generation of the club. Gomes won 4 trophies in his four seasons with the Parisians including one League title (1993-94), two Coupe de France titles and a Coupe de la Ligue trophy in 1994-95.

In total Ricardo Gomes played 110 games for PSG in all competitions, scoring 11 goals along the way. He was also a regular starter for the

and played at the 1990 World Cup and in two Copa America tournaments. In fact He should have been part of the legendary Brazil team in 1994, but he picked up an injury on the eve of the tournament and missed out on his country's World Cup victory.

Gomes retired from playing in 1996 and has been a manager ever since. He started his managerial career in PSG right after his retirement. He managed Paris Saint-Germaine for two seasons and won Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue in the 1997-98 season. For all his achievements, Ricardo Gomes is labelled as one of the

best Paris Saint-Germain Defenders of all time

.

Alain Roche

The only player in the list of best Paris Saint-Germain Defenders of all time who played for PSG's eternal enemy,

, Alain Roche was born on October 1967. He started his career in 1985 with Bordeaux and had moderate spells with Marseille and Auxerre before joining PSG for a six season stay in 1992.

Roche played 193 matches for Paris Saint-Germaine in all competitions and scored 10 goals. He is considered among the

Best Defenders in Paris Saint-Germain History

mostly because of his achievements with the club, as well as many important goals he scored in crucial matches.

Roche won an incredible seven titles with PSG, including one Division 1, three Coup de France, one Coup de la Ligue and the clubs first ever Uefa Cup Winners Cup in 1995-96.

His importance as one of

All-time Best Defenders at Paris Saint-Germain

is proved when considering the fact that Roche scored when PSG won both the 1993 Coupe de France Final and the 1995 Coupe de la Ligue Final.

Roche was named French Football Player of the Year in 1992. He finished his career at 2002 as one of only three men that have lifted the French title with three different clubs (

, Marseille and Paris Saint Germaine). He also played 25 times for France national team and scored one goal.

Marquinhos

Another Brazilian who should be considered among the

best Paris Saint-Germain Defenders ever

,

is the only player of our list who, as of 2023 is still playing at the club.

Marquinhos joined PSG alongside Brazilian national teammate, Thiago Silva. Together they built an amazing partnership at the heart of PSG up until 2020 and both are considered as

All-time Best Paris Saint-Germain Defenders

.

In total, he has played 397 games for the club and scored 38 goals. his best season was the 2019-2020 season in which PSG won the domestic double and reached UCL Final for the first time in their history.

Known for his anticipation, and intelligence, as well as his composure, technical skills, passing ability and confidence in possession, Marquinhos has won 26 titles with PSG. He was included in Ligue 1 Team of the Year (2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22) and UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season (2019-20 and 2020–21). Surely an incredible resume for one of the

best ever Paris Saint-Germain Defenders

.

Internationally, Marquinhos was a member of Brazil's squad in two Copa America's and the  World Cups. He has played 76 games for the national team scoring five goals.

Thiago Silva

Thiago Silva was in many ways among the leaders of PSG revolution under the Qatari ownership. He joined PSG in 2012-2013 and always kept his place in the starting line-up under every manager he worked with.

Silva has been considered one of the greatest defenders in the football world for over ten years now. He is known best for his good aerial ability, phenomenal tactical intelligence and knowledge of the game, as well as an excellent positional sense. The towering Brazilian was voted as one of the top two central defenders in Europe for three consecutive years.

won a total of 23 titles with PSG and reached UCL's semi-final in 2019-2020 season before leaving to join Chelsea. He played 315 games and scored 17 goals for Paris Saint Germain.

He has also played 113 games for the Brazilian national team, scoring seven goals in total. He featured for Brazil in three FIFA World Cups (2014, 2018 and 2022) and four Copa Americas.

Silva called it time on his historic spell at PSG and decided to join

. He was selected in FIFA FIFPro World11 and UEFA Team of the Year three times during his career with PSG.

Other notable Best Paris Saint-Germain Defenders of all time:

• Dominique Bathenay

  : He was a PSG player from 1973 to 1978 with 230 games and 31 goals registered to his name.

• Franck Tanasi

  : Played fourteen years at Paris Saint Germain, playing 215 games for the club. He won Coupe de France with PSG in 1982-83.

• Bernard Mendy

  : Joined PSG in 2000 at stayed for the next 8 seasons. He played 189 games and scored 2 goals for the club and won four trophies including the Uefa Intertoto Cup at 2001.

• Philippe Jeannol:

  Played 230 games and scored an incredible 38 goals in his 14 year spell with PSG.

• Mamadou Sakho

  : Won four titles and scored seven goals in 201 matches for Paris Saint-Germaine from 2006 to 2013.

• Maxwell

  . The Brazilian left-back played 145 games and scored 11 goals in his 5 seasons with PSG. He won an amazing 14 titles and was one of the club's key players during PSG's revolution under the Qataris.

• Presnel Kimpembe:

  Still a member of PSG, has played 236 games winning 18 trophies since 2014

So what do you think about our list of Best Paris Saint-Germain Defenders of all time? Do you think any player should be included in the list? Which player did you like best? Let us know in the comments below.

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