Paris Saint-Germain's squad rotation is back in the spotlight thanks to the comments of superstar forward Ousmane Dembele after they beat Manchester City in the Champions League.

Dembele joked about the amount of holidays he has, saying that he enjoys playing in the Champions League after a weekend off in Ligue 1.

PSG have won the Ligue 1 title in 12 of the last 14 seasons, and all of the last five, and after shifting their recruitment strategy under Luis Enrique they've been able to maintain that record while keeping their focus on Europe throughout most of the season.

Dembele interview highlights PSG rotation behind Champions League domination

PSG have capitalised on their ability to prioritise the Champions League, winning the tournament back-to-back in 2025 and 2026 after years of chasing it obsessively.

After beating Inter Milan comfortably in the final in 2024-25, the Parisians went all the way again in 2025-26 and ultimately defeated Arsenal on penalties in the final to retain their title.

They won 4-2 at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday. After pacing themselves in the league phase in the last two seasons, PSG are already top after two matches this time around.

Dembele scored the second goal of the game in Manchester and spoke to the French media afterwards.

"After the international break, I went on holiday," Dembele told CANAL+ after the win over Man City.

"In fact, I might ask for more… On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I really enjoy playing… Especially when I come back from holiday!

The 2025 Ballon d'Or winner went on to do the team talk for Strasbourg manager Hugo Oliveira by incorrectly guessing that PSG's Ligue 1 fixture on Saturday is against Le Havre.

Which PSG players have missed the most Ligue 1 minutes?

The start of the 2026-27 is following much the same pattern as 2025-26 when it comes to Luis Enrique's use of his most important players. The Champions League is the focus; Ligue 1 is dealt with as a matter of squad depth and alternative options.

Last season, Dembele and captain Marquinhos started just 11 matches each in the league and missed nearly twice as many minutes as they played.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Nuno Mendes, Joao Neves, Desire Doue and Achraf Hakimi all missed more minutes than they played, though only Dembele and Mendes are in that position after the first six Ligue 1 matches of 2026-27.

Of the players regarded as PSG's best and most important, Vitinha was the most used with 24 starts and 2119 minutes in the league last season. The Portuguese midfielder has played 90 minutes in five of their six league games this season too.

Minutes played/missed in Ligue 1 in 2025-26 and 2026-27

In of a possible total of 3600 minutes this season and last, PSG's top players have featured as follows:

• Ousmane Dembele - played 1273, missed 2327
• Nuno Mendes - played 1436, missed 2164
• Marquinhos - played 1502, missed 2098
• Desire Doue - played 1667, missed 1933
• Joao Neves - played 1673, missed 1927
• Achraf Hakimi - played 1754, missed 1846
• Khvicha Kvaratskhelia - played 1791, missed 1809
• Vitinha - played 2579, missed 1021