With Desiré Doué, Paris St. Germain has an exceptional player in its ranks. The attacker, who is only 20 years old, is very familiar with the semi-final opponent in the Champions League from Munich.
Those responsible at FC Bayern are probably still secretly annoyed about this rejection: After all, they too wanted to bring Desiré Doué to Säbener Straße. But the now 20-year-old preferred to stay in his native France – and chose Paris St. Germain. The French top club transferred around 50 million euros in transfer fee to Stade Rennes in 2024.
Now, around two years later, Doué is one of the most sought-after strikers in all of Europe – and probably at least twice as expensive.
It is a meteoric rise for the striker, which was only possible because the young man, who was born in Angers, in the western province of the Grande Nation, combines so many talents that even many top players become jealous of his special talents.
Like a snake
Despite his young age, Doué is considered to be extremely cool in front of the opposing goal; his passing, his understanding of the game, his mobility combined with his ball skills stand out at first glance. Doué often sneaks inconspicuously around the opponent’s penalty area like a snake and then bites relentlessly.
“I grew up with two idols: Neymar and Lionel Messi. I got so much inspiration from both of them. Both were at their peak when I was a teenager. They made me dream”said Doue, shortly after putting on the PSG jersey for the first time. Doué undoubtedly emulates his great role models.
During PSG’s most recent visit to Leverkusen (7-2) in the group stage, Doué almost single-handedly sent the entire Werkself defense into despair and also scored twice. Just as both Neymar and Messi were able to do so seemingly effortlessly and skillfully in the recent past.
Paris Desire Doue poses in front of the Champions League trophy
Strong start
The young man is also not afraid of big games. At last year’s Champions League final, Doué scored twice in the unexpectedly high and confident 5-0 win against Inter Milan. In total, Doué scored five goals and provided four assists in 16 games in his first season in the premier class. A spectacular result.
In the current season there are also five goals and two assists in ten games. “Desiré Doué is the best young player in Europe”said French world and European champion Patrick Vieira last October.
Doué himself, but also the entire PSG team, has the courage of coach Luis Enrique to thank for the fact that the young attacker was able to start such a remarkable career in Paris. Enrique had relied on the young star right from the start, despite his inexperience – which quickly paid off.
Clear motto
“A club has to create an environment in which you can learn and make mistakes. Desire Doué is the perfect example of this. I think he is the best of the best in the world”says Vieira.
The special expectations placed on him do not seem to have any further influence on Doué. Rather, he always seems to be guided by his life motto, which he also got a tattoo to be reminded of again and again: “If you don’t see a clear path to your goal, sometimes you have to forge it yourself.”
However, the goal of the striker with roots in the Ivory Coast should be clear and unequivocal on Tuesday evening (from 9 p.m. in the audio stream and in the live ticker): A PSG win against FC Bayern should serve as the basis for the second leg (May 6th, 2026) in Munich and the later entry into the final. Doué would ideally like to increase the anger of the Munich executive team even further.
