Neymar and Kylian Mbappe alone cost Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) €402 million in transfer fees. And while Lionel Messi didn’t cost a penny when he arrived from Barcelona in 2021, the contract he was given cost PSG north of €75 million after tax. Other stars like Angel Maria, Edinson Cavani, Sergio Ramos and Mauro Icardi came and went at considerable cost, and all PSG had to show for it was an appearance in the Champions League final in 2020 – the Covid-19 - affected year when knockout rounds were played at a neutral venue behind closed doors.
When Luis Enrique took charge in the summer of 2023, both Messi and Neymar were on their way out, while Mbappe had been making come-hither eyes at Real Madrid for years. When he arrived in Paris, Enrique made it clear that the blueprint of the previous decade would be torn to shreds. He would be the architect now. Before his first Champions League game in charge – a 2-0 win against Borussia Dortmund, who would upset PSG in the semi-finals later in the season – Enrique took a veiled dig at the club hierarchy. Ambition was a good thing, he said, but obsession [with winning the Champions League] was not.
Right from the days when he benched the likes of Messi and Luis Suarez, Enrique has been scared of no one. He doesn’t give a damn for reputations, but knows exactly how he wants his teams to play, with ferocious pressing. He will ensure that his players understand what’s required of them. When Ousmane Dembele was dropped before a Champions League match away to Arsenal earlier this season, it wasn’t just Enrique taking aim at his lack of effort in a league game, but also sending a clear message to the rest of the group.
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Dembele is now the greatest embodiment of Enrique’s coaching quality. The man who had scored 28 goals across the previous five league seasons struck 33 this campaign, with 22 of them coming after Enrique decided to give him a more central role. Some would call it a false nine, but as in the final where Internazionale had no idea where to look for him, Dembele switched positions whenever he was required to. He didn’t just score goals either. Who even attempts a back-heel to set up a goal in a Champions League final, as he did to release Vitinha for Desire Doue’s second?
Though the odd mistake crops up now and then, Gianluigi Donnarumma was colossal in the knockout stages, defying Liverpool at Anfield and then Arsenal at the Emirates. The manner in which he hectored his defence for a rare error in the 80th minute when PSG were 4-0 up was a reminder of how high the standards Enrique demands are.
For all the thrilling quality they have up front, the foundation of PSG’s success is the press-proof midfield. Enrique decided early that Manuel Ugarte wasn’t for him, and Fabian Ruiz – a Serie A winner with Napoli – has since established himself as a ball-winner, exquisite passer and occasional scorer. Vitinha and Joao Neves pull the strings, both slight men who shield the ball beautifully and leave opponents tackling air with their half-turns and surges.
As for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, a January signing from Napoli, few forwards track back as diligently, while frequently occupying two defenders. Kvaratskheila is the complete package – strength, pace, sublime skill and a rocket of a shot. He’s 24. Doue and Senny Mayulu are 19, as is Warren Zaire-Emery, touted to be the next great French midfielder. Bradley Barcola is just 22. If Enrique stays for the long haul, this group can challenge for the biggest trophies every season.
When Internazionale won the first of their European Cups in the 1960s, PSG hadn’t even been founded. They have no “football heritage”, as Jose Mourinho would say. But in Enrique, Dembele, Kvaratskhelia and crew, they have a group capable of leaving behind a legacy.
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