Two Champions Leagues, two padel sessions: simple coincidence or secret strategy? 

PSG are now two-time European champions. After their victory in 2025, the Parisian club repeated the feat in 2026. Two finals won, two historic evenings… and one detail that is starting to intrigue statistics enthusiasts as much as padel fans.

Each time, a few hours before the most important match of the season,  Nasser Al-Khelaïfi took out his padel racket .

Has the Parisian president found the recipe for European success?

The ritual that never loses

In Munich in 2025, before the final won against Inter Milan, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi was spotted on a padel court.

One year later, it happened again.

A few hours before the final against Arsenal, the PSG boss treated himself to nearly two hours of play in Budapest. Shorts, cap, t-shirt, and racket in hand: it's hard to imagine a more relaxed executive just hours before a match that could decide an entire season.

Result?

A second Champions League title in the Parisian trophy cabinet.

At this point, even the most skeptical start looking at the statistics.

Liverpool, Arsenal… padel strikes again

PSG observers also remember another recent episode.

Before the crucial trip to Liverpool, England, Nasser had already made a notable appearance at the padel tournament. There again, the outcome had been favorable to the Parisians.

Since then, a theory has almost taken hold: when Nasser plays padel before a big match, PSG wins.

Of course, Luis Enrique, Dembélé, Vitinha, and Donnarumma are probably partly responsible. But the facts are the facts.

Is padel the new mental preparation tool for PSG?

A former professional tennis player and ex-Qatar Davis Cup representative, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi has been playing padel for several years and is, above all, the President of the circuit Premier Padel.

To the point of becoming one of the major players in the international development of the discipline.

But perhaps its influence goes even further.

After all, some clubs have psychologists, video analysts, physical trainers or nutritionists.

PSG may have simply found something better: a padel court available before big matches.

Watch out before Rome 2027…

If PSG reaches a third European final next year, there will probably be one thing to watch even before the team lineup.

Not the press conference.

Not the last training session.

Not the players' physical condition.

But rather to know if Nasser Al-Khelaïfi has booked a padel court in the morning.

Because after two Champions Leagues and several winning matches, it looks less and less like a coincidence.

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.

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