Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique said he and the club had achieved their “ultimate goal” by winning the Champions League after the 5-0 thumping of Inter.
Since their Qatari takeover in 2011, PSG have won 11 of the past 13 French titles but the grand prize for which the club had spent big had always eluded them.
On Saturday, PSG sliced Inter to pieces at the Allianz Arena to emphatically put that right.
Luis Enrique, who won the Champions League at the helm of Barcelona in Berlin in 2015, said he had his sights set on the title ever since he took over in the French capital in 2023.
“On my first day at the PSG campus, my French was even worse than it is today. But I said the ultimate goal for me as a coach was to fill the trophy cabinet,” the Spaniard said.
“The only trophy missing was Champions League. And we’ve ticked that box. We were ambitious, and we did it.
“It’s in the bag and it’s coming home with us tomorrow.”
The manager singled out forward Ousmane Dembele for special praise, calling him “incredible” and saying “he deserves to win the Ballon d’Or.”
"I don’t need to win the Champions League to remember my daughter. My daughter is always with us."
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 31, 2025
Beautiful words from PSG manager, Luis Enrique ❤️ pic.twitter.com/BUIkjVPEEw
The coach paid tribute to his daughter Xana, who passed away from cancer in 2019 aged nine.
After the full-time whistle, the French fans unfurled a banner depicting father and daughter planting a PSG flag into the ground, just as the two had done with a Barcelona flag in Berlin a decade earlier.
“It was emotional. It’s beautiful that the supporters thought about me and my family. But I don’t need to win the Champions League or even a game to think about my daughter,” Luis Enrique said.
“She’s always with me. She’s supporting me, and our family, and I feel her presence.”
Author
World Cup News
-
FIFA World Cup
/ 17 hours agoGhosts of Gijon linger as new World Cup format encourages collusion
Algeria have waited 44 years for a shot at World Cup revenge against Austria,...
By AFP -
FIFA World Cup
/ 18 hours agoRed or green? For Brazil, the politics of World Cup kits matter
When Brazil faces Scotland in the World Cup on Wednesday, the South American team's...
By AFP -
FIFA World Cup
/ 19 hours agoDream job: US soccer fans paid to watch every World Cup game
It might just be the greatest job in the world. But for the two...
By AFP -
FIFA World Cup
/ 2 days ago‘Has-been’ Belgium stars scorched after Iran World Cup draw
Belgian media on Monday lambasted the Red Devils' lacklustre scoreless World Cup draw against...
By AFP