Paris Saint-Germain was founded in 1970 as a result of the merger between the French capital football clubs Paris FC and Stade Saint-Germain. The club has been competing in the top tier of French Football, Ligue 1, since 1974 and is commonly known as PSG or by their nicknames Les Rouge-et-Bleu (The Red and Blue's) or Les Parisiens (The Parisians).

The club has been playing at the Parc des Princes, in Paris, since 1974, and their traditional shirt is blue with a red vertical stripe. Although PSG was only formed in 70s, the club is already the third most successful football team ever in France having won a total of four Ligue 1 titles, eight French Cups, four French League Cups and four French Supercups. Their UEFA Cup Winners' Cup victory, in 1995-96, makes Paris Saint-Germain one of only two French clubs to ever win a major European competition, along with main rivals Marseille.

In 2011, Qatar Sports Investments became the club's majority owner and the sole shareholder, just a year later. This takeover has made PSG the richest and most dominant club in France and the fifth richest in the world, having generated £405.2 million in 2014, mostly from 'sponsorship deals' with several Qatari companies close to the Qatar Sports Investments group. This allowed the club to attract many big name players such as Brazilian defenders Thiago Silva and David Luiz, Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic or English world-wide superstar David Beckham that chose the club from Paris to put an end to his very successful career, in 2013. Two of PSG's four league titles have been won since the takeover by Qatar Sports Investments.

The club has an intense rivalry with Olympique de Marseille, with the matches between both clubs known as Le Classique (The Classic). Paris Saint-Germain also has the second biggest fan base in France, only behind rivals Marseille. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is a fan of the club and Jay-Z or Beyoncé are among the many celebrities that have been spotted, at the Parc des Princes, supporting the club.