The irony should be lost on no-one in the French capital.
Less than 48 hours after former Paris Saint-Germain youngsters Jonathan Ikone, Mike Maignan and Boubakary Soumare helped Lille secure their first Ligue 1 title in a decade, another highly talented youngster was walking away from the Parc des Princes having grown frustrated by a lack of first-team opportunities.
“The adventure with PSG for me ends here,” Kays Ruiz-Atil writes on his official Instagram page.
“Here, I learned everything! Here, I made my dream come true by playing with the greatest players in the world and becoming a professional footballer.
“Here, I made my mother, my father, my family, my friends proud! Here, I became a man.”
What Ruiz-Atil did not become, however, is a regular presence at the heart of the PSG midfield.
A balletic little playmaker once labelled the ‘new Lionel Messi’ during his formative years at Barcelona’s feted La Masia academy, Ruiz-Atil made just seven Ligue 1 appearances for the Paris-based giants.
The December departure of Thomas Tuchel did him no favours either.
The Lyon-born teen was a regular in the PSG squad before Christmas. Once Mauricio Pochettino arrived in Tuchel’s place, however, Ruiz-Atil was nowhere to be seen.
But, as Ikone, Maignan and Soumare will tell you – not to mention Kingsley Coman, Christopher Nkunku, Moussa Dembele and Odsonne Edouard – leaving PSG as a little-known youngster doesn’t mean the end of your top-level career.
In fact, it may just be the beginning.
Last year, Foot Mercato reported Arsenal were interested in Ruiz-Atil, who has unsurprisingly been linked with Tuchel’s Chelsea too.
And while Mikel Arteta obviously has a lot to learn, credit where it’s due. Youngsters Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka made big strides under the former Manchester City coach, while Eddie Nketiah, Folarin Balogun and Gabriel Martinelli were handed chances too.
If Ruiz-Atil wants to prove PSG wrong, he’s not short of inspiration with Coman, Ikone, Soumare, Maignan and Dembele all becoming league champions this month.
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