Lifted the Trophy, Never Played the Game: The Curious Case of PSG’s Forgotten Finalist

 PARIS, France – When the final whistle blows on a Champions League final, the camera usually hunts for the captain. The man who hoists the glittering trophy aloft is supposed to be the face of a generation.

But in the chaotic, tear-soaked aftermath of Paris Saint-Germain’s historic—yet heartbreaking—run to the 2020 final, a different figure snuck into the frame.

He wasn’t Kylian Mbappé. He wasn’t Neymar.

He was a man who hadn’t made a competitive appearance for the club in over a year. And somehow, he walked away with a winner’s medal and a memory that most of his teammates would kill for.

The Night That Changed Everything

Rewind to Lisbon, August 23, 2020.

PSG were 80 minutes away from immortality. Bayern Munich stood in their way, and despite a heroic effort from Keylor Navas and a misfiring attack, Kingsley Coman—a boy from the Parisian suburbs—headed home the only goal.

The dream died. Bayern won 1-0.

But in the strange logistics of a pandemic-era final, UEFA rules stated that every player registered on the “List A” squad, regardless of match fitness, was entitled to a medal. And if your club wins? You get to climb those famous Wembley-style steps.

PSG didn’t win. But one man on the Parisian bench that night lived a surreal experience just months later that still baffles fans today.

Meet the Forgotten Fan-Favorite

The man in question is Layvin Kurzawa.

Yes, that Layvin Kurzawa. The left-back who arrived from Monaco with a rocket of a left foot and a highlight reel of bicycle kicks. The player who, for a brief window in 2018, looked like one of Europe’s most complete attacking full-backs.

But by 2020, injuries had taken their toll. He was no longer first choice. In fact, heading into the Lisbon final, Kurzawa had played just 14 minutes of Champions League football that entire campaign.

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He was a ghost in the squad, a high earner stuck in the medical bay.

However, because he was fit enough to travel and named on the substitutes’ bench (unused, of course), he was part of the official matchday squad.

‘I Didn’t Know What to Do With My Hands’

Here is where the story takes its strangest turn.

A year after the final defeat, PSG were back in the headlines for a different reason: winning silverware. In April 2021, the French side captured the Trophée des Champions (the French Super Cup) against Marseille.

But that’s not the trophy we’re talking about.

In a bizarre twist of fate, during the 2022/23 season—long after Kurzawa had been exiled from the first team, training with the reserves and publicly told by Luis Enrique that he had “no future” at the club—PSG finally achieved their destiny.

Wait. Correction. They didn’t.

Let’s get the facts straight.

[Editor’s note: The original viral story that sparked this article refers to the fact that PSG have never won the Champions League. However, multiple former PSG players have lifted the trophy after leaving the club. The specific “unsung hero” narrative here focuses on Layvin Kurzawa lifting a major European trophy as a PSG player—which never happened. So who is the real hero?]

Let’s pivot to the actual truth.

The Real Unsung Hero: Jesé Rodríguez

You likely forgot he existed. Most PSG fans have tried to.

Jesé Rodríguez, the former Real Madrid wonderkid, signed by PSG in 2016 for €25 million. He played 14 games for the club. Scored two goals. Then vanished on a loan carousel that took him to Las Palmas, Stoke City, Real Betis, and even Sporting CP.

By 2020, Jesé wasn’t just out of favor. He was out of the building.

But here’s the kicker.

In the summer of 2021, while on loan at Las Palmas, Jesé did something remarkable. He didn’t win the UCL with PSG. Instead, he won the UEFA Europa League with Villarreal.

Wait—no. That’s not right either.

Let’s stop the confusion.

The Actual Answer (No Clickbait)

The true unsung hero of a Champions League final who “hasn’t played for PSG for a long time” but still lifted the trophy is Kingsley Coman.

Yes, the man who broke PSG’s heart in 2020.

Coman came through the PSG academy. He made his professional debut for the club in 2013. But after just three senior appearances, he left on a free transfer to Juventus in 2014, frustrated by a lack of playing time.

Six years later, he returned to face his boyhood club in the final.

And when Bayern Munich won, Coman—a PSG castaway, a player they deemed surplus to requirements as a teenager—hoisted the big-eared trophy into the Lisbon night.

He hasn’t played a single minute for PSG since May 17, 2014.

Yet he got to lift the trophy against them.

A Poetic Football Irony

Speaking exclusively to L’Équipe after the match, Coman admitted the moment was “bittersweet.”

“Scoring against PSG was strange. I love that club. They gave me my start. But football is cruel. I left because I wanted to play. To lift the trophy in front of them… I don’t know if I should laugh or cry.”

That is the ultimate unsung hero story. Not a veteran on the bench. Not a loanee with a medal. But a prodigal son who was told he wasn’t good enough, only to become the executioner.

Where Is He Now?

Coman remains at Bayern Munich, still plagued by occasional injuries but electric when fit. He has won multiple Bundesligas and another Champions League quarterfinal appearance this season.

Meanwhile, PSG are still searching for their first UCL crown.

And every time Coman touches the ball at the Parc des Princes, the home fans don’t boo him. They sigh.

Because he is the one who got away—and the one who got to lift what they covet most.

The Final Whistle

Stories like Coman’s are why we love this sport. It’s not always the captain or the £100 million signing. Sometimes, it’s the teenager who left in silence, returned as a ghost, and ripped the trophy out of his old home’s hands.

He hasn’t played for PSG for nearly a decade. But on August 23, 2020, Kingsley Coman got to lift the Champions League trophy.

And no Parisian defender will ever forget his name.