Since 2011, Qatar poured over a billion euros into Paris Saint-Germain. Neymar, Messi, Mbappé. The most expensive names in football history, all under one roof. And every spring brought the same heartbreak. 2017: leading 4-0, overturned 6-1 at Camp Nou. La Remontada. 2020: the final, lost to Bayern Munich on a goal by Kingsley Coman, a kid from their own academy. 2022: cruising 2-0 on aggregate, Benzema scores a hat trick in 17 minutes. 2024: 44 shots across two legs against Dortmund, zero goals. The dressing room had become a collection of talents, not a team.
I didn't feel like we were a team. Everyone was playing for themselves, we were a bit lost on the pitch. You can't afford to have one, two, or three players who don't run.
Vitinha
On the Messi-Neymar-Mbappé era, interview December 2025
Summer 2024. Kylian Mbappé leaves. The club's all-time top scorer chooses Real Madrid. The experts are unanimous: PSG have downgraded. But Luis Enrique sees an opportunity. 'None of you are special,' he tells his players. 'Our game does not consist in letting one player do what he wants.' The philosophy is radical: total pressing, multi-functional players, the collective above all.
The moment he leaves, the team becomes the cornerstone. Having one player who can do whatever he wants on the pitch means there are situations I cannot control. Next season, I will control all of them. Without exception.
Luis Enrique
Movistar+ documentary, on Mbappé's departure
Luis Enrique is a complete fraud! He's a deception like we've never had at PSG! Time will prove me right.
Daniel Riolo
After Foot, RMC Sport, June 2024
Pre-season Champions League odds
0
Favorites: Manchester City
In the Champions League, results are slow to come. Luis Enrique's system takes time to click. Defeats pile up against Europe's elite: Arsenal, Atlético, Bayern. The man who said 'I will control everything' controls nothing.
Champions League - League Phase · 2024-10-01
Arsenal 2-0 Paris Saint-Germain
20' K. Havertz 1-0
35' B. Saka 2-0
Champions League - League Phase · 2024-11-06
Paris Saint-Germain 1-2 Atlético Madrid
14' W. Zaïre-Emery 1-0
18' N. Molina 1-1
90+3' A. Correa 1-2
Champions League - League Phase · 2024-11-26
Bayern Munich 1-0 Paris Saint-Germain
15th out of 36 in the overall standings. The bookmakers were right. The pundits were right. Everyone was right. But in the dressing room, something has changed.
We have created a real group, a real team. I think that above all we're a collective, a family.
Warren Zaïre-Emery
Interview, PSG official website