PSG Sells 18-Year-Old Academy Product Mbaye for $69 Million, Tops $464 Million in Summer Transfer Sales

An 18-year-old forward who wasn't even a starter just netted PSG nearly $69 million. That's how profitable it has become to sell off players who no longer fit into Luis Enrique's plans.

Ibrahim Mbaye, a product of PSG's academy, joined Aston Villa on the final day of the transfer window in a deal that could be worth up to 60 million euros ($69 million). With that sale, PSG closed out a summer in which it became the top-earning club in Europe from player departures, pulling in more than 400 million euros ($464 million), ahead of even Aston Villa itself and Manchester City.

The numbers are striking because until recently PSG stood for the exact opposite: the club that spent big to bring in Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lionel Messi or Neymar. That era is over. Since Luis Enrique took charge, and especially after Kylian Mbappé's move to Real Madrid in 2024, the club's internal philosophy shifted. The Spanish coach asked for a squad built around less star-driven but still high-level players, capable of creating genuine competition at every position.

Selling to Compete Better

What's notable is that PSG hasn't just sold off fringe players. The club did part with a big name in Bradley Barcola, whose transfer brought in 145 million euros ($166 million), the most expensive deal of the entire European market this summer. But the list of departures also includes players Luis Enrique mostly used off the bench: Mbaye himself, defender Noham Kamara, South Korean winger Lee Kang-in, forward Randal Kolo Muani and Portuguese striker Gonçalo Ramos. None of them were regular starters.

Mbaye, who is Senegalese, leaves Paris with an impressive resume for his age: eight trophies with the first team, including two Champions League titles, two European Super Cups and two Ligue 1 titles. This summer he became the youngest African player to score a goal at a World Cup, in a 3-1 loss to France, and two years ago he had already become the youngest debutant in recent PSG history in Ligue 1, at just 16 years, six months and 23 days old.

With the 400 million euros brought in from sales, the club spent less than 210 million euros ($243 million) on signings like Ferran Torres, Maghnes Akliouche, Mika Godts, Lucas Digne and Alessandro Longoni, leaving a net profit of close to 200 million euros ($232 million) from this transfer window alone.

The financial picture matches the sporting one. PSG closed out the 2024-25 season, the year of its first Champions League title, with record revenue of 837 million euros ($970 million). Since Qatar Sports Investments took control of the club in 2011, revenue has multiplied ninefold. Spending less and selling smarter, it seems, can also deliver trophies.