Paris Saint-Germain are the overwhelming favourites to continue their dominance of Ligue 1, although there are no shortage of hopefuls seeking to dethrone them.

PSG, who have also won the last two editions of the Champions League, have ​been boosted by ‌new arrivals this season including Spain‘s Ferran Torres, the scorer of the only ⁠goal in last month’s World Cup final.

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“Ferran is an international-level player,” coach Luis Enrique said. “He fits perfectly with what we’re looking for. He can ‌play anywhere in attack, with a great mentality.”

PSG have also bought Maghnes Akliouche and Lucas ⁠Digne, both in France’s squad at the World Cup, as well as Belgian Mika Godts, signed this week from Ajax Amsterdam.

Unfit for play

The French ⁠champions have been forced to move ​their Ligue 1 opener against Stade Rennais on Sunday after scorching summer heat left their ​Parc ‌des Princes pitch unsafe, ⁠the club said.

PSG alerted France’s professional football league (LFP) on ‌Monday to the poor condition of ⁠the playing surface. A specialist team inspected the pitch and ruled it ​unfit for play, the LFP ‌said.

The match will instead be played at Rennes’ Roazhon Park.

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The extreme heat prevented the ‌grass, which PSG grows from seed rather than installing ​as rolled turf, from developing properly, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. ​The stadium’s concrete structure intensified the conditions, ​the person added.

The club’s Qatari-backed resources have ensured they are able to attract ​a steady stream of talent as they set off in search of a ‌15th French championship and sixth in a row.

However, a rare defeat in last weekend’s Trophée des Champions against Racing Lens allows the chasing pack to dream of toppling them.

Lens finished six points adrift of PSG last season in second ‌spot, and won the French Cup. And while they have lost coach Pierre Sage to Crystal Palace, German Dino Toppmöller made a winning start ​in the season-opening super cup encounter.

Modest hopes

Lille, whose third-place finish last season means they qualify directly for the group phase of the Champions League, have a new coach in 36-year-old Davide Ancelotti.

Former Brazil ​international Filipe Luis has taken over at Monaco, who had a disappointing campaign by finishing seventh and ​have offloaded injury-plagued Paul Pogba, who had little impact last season.

Olympique de ​Marseille were runners-up twice to PSG over the last five campaigns, but with Bruno Genesio arriving from Lille to take the helm they look to be ​starting a rebuild that will take more than one season for them to be genuine contenders.

Marseille, who open the league campaign at home to Racing Strasbourg on Friday, were last champions in 2010.

Troyes and Le Mans are the two newly ⁠promoted sides, replacing Nantes ​and Metz, while Nice managed to keep their top-flight status by beating Saint-Étienne over two legs in the promotion-relegation playoff at the end of May.

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is competing with Shedeur Sanders for the starting role. Watson, who has not played in the NFL since his Achilles tear in 2024, was booed by fans during the preseason game against the Buffalo Bills.

Watson went 5-for-12 for 36 passing yards and one interception and was booed by fans as he exited the home preseason game. Following the game, the veteran quarterback said the reaction from fans was “personal.”

“I think the whole world knows it has nothing to do with the performance,” Watson said. “It’s a little bit more personal than that. So, I think it’s a disrespectful thing.”

NFL commentator Joe reacted to Watson’s comments after he was booed by the Browns fans.

“Yeah, dude. You’re widely believed to be a s*x criminal, you are the highest paid QB ever, the Browns replaced a star QB with you, and you’ve been objectively abysmal ever since leaving Houston. I’d be kind of worried if they didn’t hate you.”

Watson, who signed a blockbuster five-year, $230 million deal with the Browns in 2022 after a trade from the Houston Texans, has managed just 19 games with a 9-10 record, 3,365 yards, 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions over four seasons.

Apart from his injury struggles, Watson’s off-field controversy has also sparked criticism. He faced 27 civil lawsuits accusing him of se*ual misconduct and assault during massage therapy sessions.

Although he settled the lawsuits and wasn’t convicted, he was suspended for 11 games and was handed a $5 million fine by the NFL in 2022 in the wake of the allegations.

Also Read: “Such a loser,” “Lack of awareness is crazy”: NFL fans rip Deshaun Watson for “playing victim card” & calling out Browns fanbase for booing him

Also Read: “It’s a disrespectful thing”: Deshaun Watson rips Browns fans for booing him with “personal” vendetta

Shedeur Sanders didn’t “appreciate” boos from Browns fans for Deshaun Watson

Deshaun Watson, who hopes to reclaim his spot on the Browns lineup, faces competition from second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders for the starting role.

Despite the competition, Sanders didn’t “appreciate” the reaction from fans during the Bills game.

“Yeah, I mean, in general, I don’t appreciate that at all,” Sanders said. “Regardless of competition, we’re all human beings. I think we all need to understand that. In this room too, we’re all humans. I don’t do things to humans that I wouldn’t want done to me.

“For all the fans, we appreciate you showing up, and however you feel about the situation with Deshaun and everything, I think it’s more about a bigger purpose and it’s respect. We’re going out there to win games, doing everything we can. So I don’t really appreciate that.”

It will be interesting to see the reaction from Browns fans if Watson is named the starting quarterback over Sanders for the 2026 season after Saturday’s fallout.