Paris Saint-Germain completed a domestic and European double in 2025/26. They won a 14th Ligue 1 title, their fifth in a row, with 76 points and clinched it on 13 May 2026 with a 2-0 win over closest challengers Lens. They also won the UEFA Champions League, beating Arsenal in the final. In Ligue 1, Esteban Lepaul of Stade Rennais claimed the Golden Boot with 21 goals, becoming the surprise face of French football scoring in a season that was always going to be overshadowed by the dominant champions. Lens finished second, Lille third, Lyon fourth. Nantes and Metz were relegated. Luis Enrique's project at PSG is now in its third season and shows no signs of slowing, though rumours about his future have started to circle.
Last season: the post-Mbappe blueprint
The 2024/25 Ligue 1 season was the first full campaign without Kylian Mbappe, who had joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2024. PSG answered the question of whether they could still dominate with 84 points, 92 goals scored and a 30-match unbeaten run. Ousmane Dembele and Mason Greenwood of Marseille shared the Golden Boot at 21 goals each. Bradley Barcola scored 14. Marseille finished second on 65 points, Monaco third on 61. The collective pressing system Luis Enrique had built was working. PSG entered 2025/26 with a fifth consecutive title as the minimum expectation.
PSG: domestic title and European glory
PSG's 2025/26 season produced the Ligue 1 title and the Champions League in the same campaign, a combination the club had never achieved in their history. In Ligue 1, the 76 points and five-point gap to Lens was comfortable without being as dominant as 2024/25's 84-point haul. The domestic title was secured with a matchday to spare. In Europe, they beat Arsenal in the Champions League final, ending English clubs' three-year grip on the trophy. Dembele remained the centrepiece of the attack. Barcola added another season of high-quality wide play. The defensive structure conceded a manageable number across both competitions. Luis Enrique has now delivered Ligue 1 in each of his three seasons at the club.
Esteban Lepaul: the Golden Boot nobody saw coming
Esteban Lepaul is a French forward who plays for Stade Rennais, a club that finished in the Europa League positions. He scored 21 goals in Ligue 1 in 2025/26 to claim the Golden Boot, the equal of Dembele and Greenwood's shared total from 2024/25. Lepaul's goals came across a full season of consistent attacking play, not one purple patch. His physical style and movement inside the box made him difficult to defend in one-on-one situations. Rennes finishing in the top half was partly built around his form. For a player not previously mentioned in the same breath as the top scorers in France, it was the kind of season that changes a career trajectory. He will enter 2026/27 with significantly more attention from bigger clubs.
Lens second, Lille third, Lyon fourth
Lens finished second for the first time in a generation, qualifying for the Champions League and representing the kind of provincial club success that Ligue 1 rarely produces outside of Lille's title years. They were consistent throughout the season and pushed PSG harder than any other club. Lille finished third under new manager Davide Ancelotti, son of Carlo, who took charge at the club in the summer of 2025. Qualifying for the Champions League in his first season was an encouraging start. Lyon came fourth, returning to European football after a difficult period. The top four positions across French football have rarely been distributed this broadly.
Marseille and Rennes in the Europa League
Marseille dropped from second in 2024/25 to a Europa League place in 2025/26, a step back that reflected the difficulty of sustaining second-place form across consecutive seasons. Mason Greenwood remained a significant presence but the squad depth that PSG possessed was absent for Marseille. Rennes finished in a Europa League spot partly on the strength of Lepaul's goals, making them one of the more unusual European qualifiers: a club whose entire campaign was shaped by one player's breakout season.
Relegation: Nantes and Metz
Nantes were relegated after a campaign in which they were bottom-half from October onwards and could not recover. One of the more historic French clubs, their drop marks the end of a long Ligue 1 tenure without the investment or squad quality to compete at this level. Metz came down alongside them, having spent the season fighting at the bottom of the table. Their relegation created two spots that will be filled by promoted sides from Ligue 2 for 2026/27.
Ligue 1 2025/26 trivia
- PSG's 2025/26 Champions League and Ligue 1 double was the first time in the club's history they won both trophies in the same season.
- PSG beat Arsenal in the Champions League final, ending three consecutive seasons of English clubs winning the trophy.
- Esteban Lepaul won the Golden Boot with 21 goals from Rennes, making him the first player from outside PSG or Marseille to win the award in five seasons.
- PSG have now won five consecutive Ligue 1 titles, matching the longest consecutive run in the division's modern era.
- Lens's second-place finish was their highest league standing in over 25 years.
- Davide Ancelotti qualified for the Champions League in his first season as a senior head coach, the same feat his father Carlo achieved at multiple clubs.
What to expect in 2026/27
PSG are chasing a sixth consecutive Ligue 1 title and remain the overwhelming favourites. The summer of 2026 saw significant squad movement: Goncalo Ramos, Randal Kolo Muani and Kang-in Lee departed, while Maghnes Akliouche, Lucas Digne and Mika Godts arrived. Luis Enrique's position is uncertain after he hinted at retiring before his 60th birthday, which would mean this could be his final season. Lens, backed by their Champions League revenue and a settled squad, are Opta's most likely runner-up. Lille under Davide Ancelotti are growing. Lyon and Monaco both have realistic top-four ambitions. If Luis Enrique does leave mid-season, PSG's advantage narrows considerably, and a genuine title race could emerge for the first time since 2024/25.
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