The third question is not superfluous: will Safonov stay in the French grand?

Matvey Safonov has been playing for the French PSG for a little over a year now. However, we are still unable to fully enjoy the Russian goalkeeper. Yes, in Paris, Matvey has already won almost everything that is possible in world club football: the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup, as well as the French championship, cup and Super Cup. Except that the club World Cup did not submit. But there is one problem: Safonov has not become PSG's main goalkeeper in a year. He became only Donnarumma's closest replacement. And goalkeepers, as a rule, are changed infrequently.

Important contribution

Last season, PSG used three goalkeepers in various tournaments. Donnarumma, of course, became the leader in playing time. The Italian has 47 league matches (24) and the French Super Cup (1; Gigi did not play in the cup), as well as the Champions League (15) and the World Club Championship (7). In total, the Italian conceded 43 goals, and in 17 matches he played "zero".

Parisians rarely used the services of 24-year-old Spanish goalkeeper Arnau Tenas: he has only one match each in the championship and the French Cup.

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Safonov also tried to impose competition on Donnarumma. And sometimes he did it, not only in situations with Gianluigi's injuries. 10 matches in the league, five in the cup and two in the Champions League. As a result: 13 goals conceded and seven "crackers". This is a pretty good result, based on the amount of playing time provided to Matvey.

Without exaggeration, the Russian's contribution to winning the Champions League should not be underestimated. Without a "dry" victory over the Spanish Girona in the 1st round, PSG could finish outside the top 24 teams, 16 of which additionally competed to reach the 1/8 finals. And then there would be no trophy. Donnarumma probably would have played just as well in that match, but we won't know that now. There is a fact that Safonov brought PSG one very important piece of bread in the victorious European Cup campaign.

By the beginning of the 2025/26 season, the following situation had developed in the Paris club. Donnarumma is close to leaving for Manchester City for 23-25 million euros, according to an insider Alfredo Pedulla. And it seemed that here he was — a chance for Safonov to become the main goalkeeper of the club. But there is a caveat.

Different information

On August 9, PSG announced the signing of a five-year contract with 23-year-old French goalkeeper Luca Chevalier. Parisians bought it from compatriots from Lille for 40 million euros (according to the Transfermarkt portal). And it is unlikely, at least initially, that the club will keep such an expensive goalkeeper on the bench.

So far, it's working out that way. The new season began, and in two of the two possible matches, the first number of PSG was Chevalier, who brought the team victory in a penalty shootout with Tottenham for the European Super Cup, as well as in the match of the 1st round of the Ligue 1 championship against Nantes, without missing. Safonov watched all this from the bench.

So now Matvey has two options: either wait for Chevalier's mistakes or injury and then cling to his chance at the base, or leave PSG. And such rumors spread in the media not only against the background of the arrival of a direct competitor in the person of Chevalier, but also because of the arrival of Ukrainian defender Ilya Zabarny to the French club, in order to avoid image and political risks.

But it seems that it is too early to talk about Safonov's possible departure from PSG. Matvey Safonov's father stated in a comment to Sport-Express that he had not received information about such a development.

After the transfer, Zabarny Le10sport, citing L'Equipe, noted that PSG had recently offered Safonov several career options, but the Russian refused to leave because "he likes life in Paris" and he "has adapted well and speaks French well."

The same L'Equipe soon reported that Safonov intends to compete with Chevalier for the role of PSG's main goalkeeper. To leave on your own is tantamount to "showing weakness." So there is only one condition for leaving: if the club itself asks Matvey to "pack up", and there is also a decent, large European club that can not only acquire a Russian goalkeeper, but also make him the main one. So far, there have been no specific rumors about this (except for the option with the Turkish Galatasaray). And the Fireman has nothing to do with it.

Moreover, according to Sport24, Safonov and Zabarny have already established a normal working relationship: during the traditional welcome corridor at training, Matvey lightly punched Ilya on the shoulder without malicious intent, and both players flew in adjacent airplane seats to the European Super Cup match in Udine, Italy. It was also reported that during the working hours, the players communicate with each other in Russian, and the head coach of the team Luis Enrique and sports director Luis Campos personally spoke with Zabarny and Safonov, explaining that the club would not raise the topic of politics. Among other things, the captain of PSG, Brazilian Marquinhos, helps in establishing communication, refreshing the emotional balance and maintaining an exclusively working atmosphere in the locker room.

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So there is hope that political issues will not be the reason for Safonov's possible departure from PSG, and Matvey will prove his willingness to be the main goalkeeper solely on athletic qualities. And then there will be no need to worry about the future of the Russian in Paris.

On the other hand, if Enrique continues to trust Chevalier, Safonov will once again be in the role of a backup. And it's not a fact that Matvey will like such a role. Then you should already think about changing your club registration.

"Chevalier is a serious competitor, of course, but Matvey is able to win the fight for a place in the Parisian goal," Vitaly Kafanov, the goalkeeper coach of the Russian national team, told Izvestia. — Donnarumma, I think, had one advantage over Matvey. But very significant. I mean, I have a lot of experience playing in European competitions and European championships. And last season, in my opinion, in the second half of the championship, this helped the Italian to have one of the best periods in his career, to help PSG win all the trophies. But Chevalier has no such advantage over Safonov. Otherwise, they are approximately equal. And the second goal, which Tottenham scored against Parisians in the UEFA Super Cup, suggests that Chevalier is not immune from mistakes either.

It seems that this story will continue in the near future. We will continue to observe.