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Grand designs
Warren Zaïre-Emery, the face of the new-look Paris Saint-Germain, takes us on a tour of the French champions’ sleek new training complex and explains how it heralds the start of a new era
WORDS Michael Harrold & Jérôme Vitoux | PHOTOGRAPHY Victor Joly
Interview
Campus Paris Saint-Germain, the club’s stunning new training complex, is split over three levels on a hillside in Poissy, the neighbouring town to their spiritual home of Saint-Germain in the western suburbs of the French capital. Surrounded by fields and forests, the 59-hectare site rises up from the main entrance, through the academy buildings and pitches on the second level to the first-team base at the top. We’re here to meet Warren Zaïre-Emery, Paris’s 18-year-old midfield star and academy graduate, who has agreed to give a tour of the club’s state-of-the-art new home.
A path runs through the centre of the complex linking each level and showing the clear progression from the youth to the senior ranks. Halfway up is a post listing the names of the junior players who have made the journey up to the first team since 2020.
“This is a symbolic place that all the academy players go through before they become professional,” Zaïre-Emery says. “You can see all the players’ names here. I’m part of it and I’m very happy about that.”
Some have moved on, such as Xavi Simons on loan at Leipzig, or Kylian Mbappé’s brother Ethan at Lille. Others are finding their feet alongside Zaïre-Emery at the Parc des Princes this season. Senny Mayulu and Yoram Zague, both also 18, have recently broken into the first team, along with Ibrahim Mbaye, who in August became Paris’s youngest-ever starter – though Zaïre-Emery still holds the record as the youngest to feature for the first team at 16 years and 151 days.
It is easy to forget that it is already over two years since Zaïre-Emery made his Paris debut, the 16-year-old local kid from Aubervilliers suddenly sharing the stage with some of the biggest names in the game. “When you go into the dressing room and you see players you’ve watched on TV, and [think how] you used to jump up and down when you saw the amazing things they did, you’re quite starstruck. But within a week you get used to it; you get into your training routine and you try to give it your all.”
Now, he is the star that aspiring prospects idolise. “I know they look up to me even if I don’t realise it or want to show off about it. I remember when I went to a classroom and the 13 and 14-year-olds wanted to have a photo with me, even though I’m only three or four years older than them.”
Zaïre-Emery has a become a mainstay, amassing nearly 100 appearances in his two-and-a-bit seasons, and providing a crucial anchor in midfield thanks to his energy, reading of the game, touch and versatility. Only seven Champions League players had covered more ground than his 47.2km by the halfway stage of the league phase this term.
He is the fresh face of a new era – post Mbappé, Neymar and Lionel Messi. And though the ascent has been heady, Zaïre-Emery is unfazed by the speed of change. When we speak, he has recently passed his bac, the French secondary school qualification, though there was no time to celebrate the achievement.
“I didn’t do anything because I was with the national team just after I got the news,” he says. “It’s true that it has been quite important, especially for my family, my girlfriend and the people around me. They told me not to give up because there were some tough moments… but they were there to support me. So, I am very proud to have got it but, above all, I did it for them.”
Football runs in the family. Zaïre-Emery has spoken about his passion for Paris Saint-Germain as a kid, watching games with his brothers Wesley, William and Wayne. His girlfriend, Océane Toussaint, is a goalkeeper with Paris’s women’s team, while his dad Franck played in midfield for Parisian side Red Star. “I was with my father all the time because he was a coach. Prior to that, he was a player and then a coach at Aubervilliers. I followed him around everywhere he went. So, when he was coaching, I would play by myself. I kicked the ball alone against the wall. Right foot, left foot. I think that’s served me well.”
“these facilities, this level of modernity, the nice view... For academy lads, it drives us to be the best on a daily basis”
"I really try to work out every day, every morning."
Behind the gym is the spa area: four pools providing space for different low-impact workout, recovery and rehabilitation sessions. “In general, we do contrast therapy using both cold pools here. The aim is to really optimise recovery. The contrast therapy helps the blood circulation.
“I start in the largest pool, where I move and put in mobility work for my hips, hamstrings, calves and so on. Then I get into the warmest pool, where I spend two minutes. Then I alternate: two minutes in each. It helps me recover properly after games and improves blood circulation. At least, that’s what I’ve been told!”
There is also a sauna and a hammam and, just behind that, a cryotherapy chamber. “They’re really outstanding facilities which allow us to recover as well as possible and to perform to our best ability in every game. In cryotherapy, you get into a chamber where the temperature is -110C. Generally speaking, you stay for three minutes.”
We’re shown the spacious restaurant – fruit and vegetables are grown on site – and are then taken upstairs to the players’ quarters. It feels like a five-star hotel: open and bright, soft tones on the walls and a carpeted floor. There is a breakout area halfway down the corridor with a pool table, sofas, a coffee machine and beyond that an atrium with olive trees. The rooms look out onto the pitches below.
Zaïre-Emery’s is next door to Gianluigi Donnarumma’s and already holds good memories. “This is where I heard I’d been selected for the French national team for the first time,” he says. That was 9 November 2023, just about a year ago to the day we meet, and he scored in the subsequent 14-0 victory against Gibraltar.
He was also on target for Paris against Atlético de Madrid the night before our tour, showing cool composure to outwit Jan Oblak and score with a neat chip – though the Spanish side would leave with all three points from a game Paris largely dominated. “I’m not really someone who shows my emotions, even though I’m trying to do it a bit more. But I heard the fans shouting, and it was just magnificent. It was a beautiful goal as well.”
The roar of the home crowd at the Parc des Princes following a goal in the Champions League – a dream come true for a boy from Paris. So, does he sometimes have to pinch himself when he considers how far he has come so quickly? “That’s a tricky one because I realise it, but also I don’t really realise it as I’m playing and enjoying myself. I’m enjoying being in this team with my team-mates. We’re all together and we play for each other. I try to ignore everything that’s going on around me.”
Even if it’s going pretty well? “Yes, very well.”
A path runs through the centre of the complex linking each level and showing the clear progression from the youth to the senior ranks. Halfway up is a post listing the names of the junior players who have made the journey up to the first team since 2020.
“This is a symbolic place that all the academy players go through before they become professional,” Zaïre-Emery says. “You can see all the players’ names here. I’m part of it and I’m very happy about that.”
Some have moved on, such as Xavi Simons on loan at Leipzig, or Kylian Mbappé’s brother Ethan at Lille. Others are finding their feet alongside Zaïre-Emery at the Parc des Princes this season. Senny Mayulu and Yoram Zague, both also 18, have recently broken into the first team, along with Ibrahim Mbaye, who in August became Paris’s youngest-ever starter – though Zaïre-Emery still holds the record as the youngest to feature for the first team at 16 years and 151 days.
It is easy to forget that it is already over two years since Zaïre-Emery made his Paris debut, the 16-year-old local kid from Aubervilliers suddenly sharing the stage with some of the biggest names in the game. “When you go into the dressing room and you see players you’ve watched on TV, and [think how] you used to jump up and down when you saw the amazing things they did, you’re quite starstruck. But within a week you get used to it; you get into your training routine and you try to give it your all.”
Now, he is the star that aspiring prospects idolise. “I know they look up to me even if I don’t realise it or want to show off about it. I remember when I went to a classroom and the 13 and 14-year-olds wanted to have a photo with me, even though I’m only three or four years older than them.”
Zaïre-Emery has a become a mainstay, amassing nearly 100 appearances in his two-and-a-bit seasons, and providing a crucial anchor in midfield thanks to his energy, reading of the game, touch and versatility. Only seven Champions League players had covered more ground than his 47.2km by the halfway stage of the league phase this term.
He is the fresh face of a new era – post Mbappé, Neymar and Lionel Messi. And though the ascent has been heady, Zaïre-Emery is unfazed by the speed of change. When we speak, he has recently passed his bac, the French secondary school qualification, though there was no time to celebrate the achievement.
“I didn’t do anything because I was with the national team just after I got the news,” he says. “It’s true that it has been quite important, especially for my family, my girlfriend and the people around me. They told me not to give up because there were some tough moments… but they were there to support me. So, I am very proud to have got it but, above all, I did it for them.”
Football runs in the family. Zaïre-Emery has spoken about his passion for Paris Saint-Germain as a kid, watching games with his brothers Wesley, William and Wayne. His girlfriend, Océane Toussaint, is a goalkeeper with Paris’s women’s team, while his dad Franck played in midfield for Parisian side Red Star. “I was with my father all the time because he was a coach. Prior to that, he was a player and then a coach at Aubervilliers. I followed him around everywhere he went. So, when he was coaching, I would play by myself. I kicked the ball alone against the wall. Right foot, left foot. I think that’s served me well.”
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“these facilities, this level of modernity, the nice view... For academy lads, it drives us to be the best on a daily basis”
"I really try to work out every day, every morning."
Behind the gym is the spa area: four pools providing space for different low-impact workout, recovery and rehabilitation sessions. “In general, we do contrast therapy using both cold pools here. The aim is to really optimise recovery. The contrast therapy helps the blood circulation.
“I start in the largest pool, where I move and put in mobility work for my hips, hamstrings, calves and so on. Then I get into the warmest pool, where I spend two minutes. Then I alternate: two minutes in each. It helps me recover properly after games and improves blood circulation. At least, that’s what I’ve been told!”
There is also a sauna and a hammam and, just behind that, a cryotherapy chamber. “They’re really outstanding facilities which allow us to recover as well as possible and to perform to our best ability in every game. In cryotherapy, you get into a chamber where the temperature is -110C. Generally speaking, you stay for three minutes.”
We’re shown the spacious restaurant – fruit and vegetables are grown on site – and are then taken upstairs to the players’ quarters. It feels like a five-star hotel: open and bright, soft tones on the walls and a carpeted floor. There is a breakout area halfway down the corridor with a pool table, sofas, a coffee machine and beyond that an atrium with olive trees. The rooms look out onto the pitches below.
Zaïre-Emery’s is next door to Gianluigi Donnarumma’s and already holds good memories. “This is where I heard I’d been selected for the French national team for the first time,” he says. That was 9 November 2023, just about a year ago to the day we meet, and he scored in the subsequent 14-0 victory against Gibraltar.
He was also on target for Paris against Atlético de Madrid the night before our tour, showing cool composure to outwit Jan Oblak and score with a neat chip – though the Spanish side would leave with all three points from a game Paris largely dominated. “I’m not really someone who shows my emotions, even though I’m trying to do it a bit more. But I heard the fans shouting, and it was just magnificent. It was a beautiful goal as well.”
The roar of the home crowd at the Parc des Princes following a goal in the Champions League – a dream come true for a boy from Paris. So, does he sometimes have to pinch himself when he considers how far he has come so quickly? “That’s a tricky one because I realise it, but also I don’t really realise it as I’m playing and enjoying myself. I’m enjoying being in this team with my team-mates. We’re all together and we play for each other. I try to ignore everything that’s going on around me.”
Even if it’s going pretty well? “Yes, very well.”
A path runs through the centre of the complex linking each level and showing the clear progression from the youth to the senior ranks. Halfway up is a post listing the names of the junior players who have made the journey up to the first team since 2020.
“This is a symbolic place that all the academy players go through before they become professional,” Zaïre-Emery says. “You can see all the players’ names here. I’m part of it and I’m very happy about that.”
Some have moved on, such as Xavi Simons on loan at Leipzig, or Kylian Mbappé’s brother Ethan at Lille. Others are finding their feet alongside Zaïre-Emery at the Parc des Princes this season. Senny Mayulu and Yoram Zague, both also 18, have recently broken into the first team, along with Ibrahim Mbaye, who in August became Paris’s youngest-ever starter – though Zaïre-Emery still holds the record as the youngest to feature for the first team at 16 years and 151 days.
It is easy to forget that it is already over two years since Zaïre-Emery made his Paris debut, the 16-year-old local kid from Aubervilliers suddenly sharing the stage with some of the biggest names in the game. “When you go into the dressing room and you see players you’ve watched on TV, and [think how] you used to jump up and down when you saw the amazing things they did, you’re quite starstruck. But within a week you get used to it; you get into your training routine and you try to give it your all.”
Now, he is the star that aspiring prospects idolise. “I know they look up to me even if I don’t realise it or want to show off about it. I remember when I went to a classroom and the 13 and 14-year-olds wanted to have a photo with me, even though I’m only three or four years older than them.”
Zaïre-Emery has a become a mainstay, amassing nearly 100 appearances in his two-and-a-bit seasons, and providing a crucial anchor in midfield thanks to his energy, reading of the game, touch and versatility. Only seven Champions League players had covered more ground than his 47.2km by the halfway stage of the league phase this term.
He is the fresh face of a new era – post Mbappé, Neymar and Lionel Messi. And though the ascent has been heady, Zaïre-Emery is unfazed by the speed of change. When we speak, he has recently passed his bac, the French secondary school qualification, though there was no time to celebrate the achievement.
“I didn’t do anything because I was with the national team just after I got the news,” he says. “It’s true that it has been quite important, especially for my family, my girlfriend and the people around me. They told me not to give up because there were some tough moments… but they were there to support me. So, I am very proud to have got it but, above all, I did it for them.”
Football runs in the family. Zaïre-Emery has spoken about his passion for Paris Saint-Germain as a kid, watching games with his brothers Wesley, William and Wayne. His girlfriend, Océane Toussaint, is a goalkeeper with Paris’s women’s team, while his dad Franck played in midfield for Parisian side Red Star. “I was with my father all the time because he was a coach. Prior to that, he was a player and then a coach at Aubervilliers. I followed him around everywhere he went. So, when he was coaching, I would play by myself. I kicked the ball alone against the wall. Right foot, left foot. I think that’s served me well.”
“these facilities, this level of modernity, the nice view... For academy lads, it drives us to be the best on a daily basis”
"I really try to work out every day, every morning."
Behind the gym is the spa area: four pools providing space for different low-impact workout, recovery and rehabilitation sessions. “In general, we do contrast therapy using both cold pools here. The aim is to really optimise recovery. The contrast therapy helps the blood circulation.
“I start in the largest pool, where I move and put in mobility work for my hips, hamstrings, calves and so on. Then I get into the warmest pool, where I spend two minutes. Then I alternate: two minutes in each. It helps me recover properly after games and improves blood circulation. At least, that’s what I’ve been told!”
There is also a sauna and a hammam and, just behind that, a cryotherapy chamber. “They’re really outstanding facilities which allow us to recover as well as possible and to perform to our best ability in every game. In cryotherapy, you get into a chamber where the temperature is -110C. Generally speaking, you stay for three minutes.”
We’re shown the spacious restaurant – fruit and vegetables are grown on site – and are then taken upstairs to the players’ quarters. It feels like a five-star hotel: open and bright, soft tones on the walls and a carpeted floor. There is a breakout area halfway down the corridor with a pool table, sofas, a coffee machine and beyond that an atrium with olive trees. The rooms look out onto the pitches below.
Zaïre-Emery’s is next door to Gianluigi Donnarumma’s and already holds good memories. “This is where I heard I’d been selected for the French national team for the first time,” he says. That was 9 November 2023, just about a year ago to the day we meet, and he scored in the subsequent 14-0 victory against Gibraltar.
He was also on target for Paris against Atlético de Madrid the night before our tour, showing cool composure to outwit Jan Oblak and score with a neat chip – though the Spanish side would leave with all three points from a game Paris largely dominated. “I’m not really someone who shows my emotions, even though I’m trying to do it a bit more. But I heard the fans shouting, and it was just magnificent. It was a beautiful goal as well.”
The roar of the home crowd at the Parc des Princes following a goal in the Champions League – a dream come true for a boy from Paris. So, does he sometimes have to pinch himself when he considers how far he has come so quickly? “That’s a tricky one because I realise it, but also I don’t really realise it as I’m playing and enjoying myself. I’m enjoying being in this team with my team-mates. We’re all together and we play for each other. I try to ignore everything that’s going on around me.”
Even if it’s going pretty well? “Yes, very well.”
