His start in Krasnodar

Less than a year ago, many people would probably never have imagined seeing Matvey Safonov as Paris Saint-Germain’s first-choice goalkeeper.

Luis Enrique’s side was already the dominant force we know today, racking up titles both in France and abroad, but the Russian was still generally regarded as a promising goalkeeper who spent most of his time on the bench.

Over the course of last season, however, Safonov not only established himself as a key figure in PSG’s major successes, but also came to be regarded as one of the world’s best goalkeepers.

But how did he get to this point?

Safonov was born on 25 February 1992 in the city of Stavropol, in southern Russia.

Although his family moved house a few times during his childhood, they eventually settled in Krasnodar, where Safonov began playing various sports. Football soon became his passion and, thanks to his height – a trait he inherited from his father, Yevgeny, who was a basketball player – he eventually took up the position of goalkeeper.

Shortly afterwards, he joined the youth ranks of Krasnodar, the local club, and moved into the team’s boarding house.

In 2017, Safonov made his debut for the club’s first team in the Russian Premier League and would remain there for the next seven years, becoming a first-team regular from his second season, in 2018–19.

Making his mark in Russian football

At Krasnodar, he established himself as one of Russia’s most promising young goalkeepers.

In the 2020–21 season, he helped the club reach the Champions League group stage for the first time. He would later further cement his reputation by securing the team’s qualification for the group stage in a match against PAOK of Greece. On that occasion, he saved a penalty taken by Dimitrios Pelkas and secured the victory for Krasnodar.

Shortly afterwards, Safonov also took over as the club’s captain.

By finishing third in their Champions League group that season, Krasnodar secured a place in the UEFA Europa League play-offs.

That period marked the peak of Safonov’s time at the Russian club. In the following seasons, however, his form was more inconsistent: in some matches, he was the team’s hero; in others, a costly mistake ultimately cost him his place in the starting line-up.

Even so, his final season at the club, in 2023–24, was excellent. Safonov played in all 30 Russian Premier League matches and topped the saves chart. In his final match for Krasnodar, in May 2024, it was he who ensured the team kept a clean sheet in their historic 1–0 victory over Dynamo Moscow, a result that secured the club its first ever runner-up finish in the league.

The move to PSG

A month later, in June, Safonov was signed by the then Ligue 1 champions, PSG.

His first season in Paris had some standout moments.

In a Coupe de France match against Lens, Safonov saved two penalties in the shoot-out following a 1–1 draw, securing PSG’s progression. He also started in the final in May 2025 and kept a clean sheet in the 3–0 victory over Reims, which secured the title for the club.

There was no denying, however, that Safonov was PSG’s second-choice goalkeeper, behind the Italian Gianluigi Donnarumma.

PSG won their first-ever Champions League title at the end of that season, thrashing Inter Milan 5–0 in the final. As a result, Safonov became only the fifth Russian to win the competition, joining Igor Dobrovolski (Olympique Marseille, 1992–93), Vladimir But (Borussia Dortmund, 1996–97), Dmitri Alenichev (Porto, 2003–04) and Denis Cheryshev (Real Madrid, 2015–16).

From a personal point of view, however, the title still felt somewhat incomplete for Safonov. After all, he was still waiting for his chance to secure a permanent place as first-choice goalkeeper for the French giants.

The chance that seemed never to come

In August, Donnarumma left PSG and joined Manchester City in the Premier League.

Was this, at last, the opportunity Safonov had been waiting for?

Apparently not.

Shortly after Donnarumma’s departure, PSG signed Lucas Chevalier from Lille to take over as first-choice goalkeeper.

It looked as though Safonov was facing yet another full season as a luxury option on the bench.

But football is unpredictable.

Although Chevalier had just enjoyed an impressive season with Lille, he struggled to settle in Paris and began to put in inconsistent performances.

In November, he suffered an ankle injury during a match against Monaco, and Safonov was called upon to temporarily take his place.

He did not disappoint.

The penalty-take hero

The FIFA Intercontinental Cup final followed shortly afterwards, in December, against Brazil’s Flamengo. The match ended in a draw and went to penalties – and Safonov saved four of the five spot-kicks, becoming PSG’s hero as they claimed their first world title, as well as their sixth trophy of 2025.

The feat is all the more impressive when you consider that, according to Luis Enrique, Safonov fractured his hand on the third penalty. Even so, he gritted his teeth and managed to save the last two.

Throughout the rest of the season, even after Chevalier’s return, Safonov continued to shine and firmly cemented his place as PSG’s first-choice goalkeeper.

He produced several standout performances during the club’s Champions League campaign, facing some of the world’s top teams, such as Chelsea, Liverpool and Bayern Munich.

From substitute to champion

By the time the 2026 final against Arsenal rolled around, Safonov was no longer the substitute watching the big games from the bench. He was PSG’s first-choice goalkeeper, tasked with helping the team lift the trophy for the second year running.

And that is exactly what he did.

PSG beat Arsenal on penalties, and Safonov became the first Russian player in history to win the Champions League twice.

This time, the victory felt complete. He was the master of his goal – after a great deal of hard work and refusing to give up, he had finally secured his place in footballing history.

“I want to win everything. Compete for every title.” – Matvey Safonov

In just two seasons, Safonov has already won nine titles with PSG and has now been nominated for the Goalkeeper of the Season award at the Ballon d’Or.

But he is far from satisfied.

A born competitor, his goal is, and always will be, to keep winning: to win, win, win, never settling for anything less than glory.

In Safonov’s own words: “Last season, I realised one thing: we’d won every possible title except the French Cup. When I realised we wouldn’t be able to win it, it was a strange feeling. I thought to myself: ‘Something’s not quite right here.’ That’s when I realised I wanted to win everything. To compete for every title. Today, I think that’s part of the Paris Saint-Germain mentality: to take to the pitch to win every match and try to win everything.” (PSG)