FACTBOX-French champions PSG

It is the third domestic crown for the capital club who have a short history compared to most European giants but hope to finally prove consistent winners at the top of French soccer.

* PSG were created in 1970 when Paris and the club of wealthy suburb Saint-Germain merged to form a second division side. They eventually became a professional club in 1974 under the presidency of fashion designer Daniel Hechter.

* PSG established themselves as a force in the top flight in the early 1980s and lifted the French Cup in 1982 for their maiden trophy. They retained the Cup the following season and won their first league crown in 1986 under Gerard Houllier.

* Aiming to make them a strong rival to dominant Olympique Marseille, television network Canal Plus, then the French league's exclusive broadcaster, bought the club in 1991.

They spent big money to develop the squad by attracting leading France players Bernard Lama and David Ginola, as well as Brazil internationals Ricardo, Valdo and Rai.

It paid off with a second league title in 1994, a French Cup the next season and in 1996 the Cup Winners' Cup which they failed to retain when they lost in the final to Barcelona.

* Marred by instability and poor signings and management mistakes, PSG then struggled to stay on top in French soccer despite being one of the country's richest clubs, with only two top three league finishes between 1998 and 2011.

* Qatari sovereign fund QSI bought the club in 2011 and spent more than 200 million euros ($259.44 million) on transfers within a year to attract the likes of Brazilian Thiago Silva and Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to unfancied Ligue 1.

After failing to beat unheralded Montpellier to the title last season, despite putting experienced Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti in charge in January, they finally clinched their third Ligue 1 title on Sunday with two games to spare. ($1 = 0.7709 euros)