Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain have already secured their status as one of the Champions League’s greatest teams by winning the trophy in back-to-back years, and now they have their sights set on a rare treble.
“Doing the treble is the objective, but we know it’s going to be very difficult and that there will be obstacles in our way,” said PSG captain Marquinhos on the eve of the campaign.b After years of disappointment in Europe for the Qatar-owned club, PSG became the real deal after former Barcelona and Spain coach Luis Enrique was appointed in 2023.
However, Maghnes Akliouche, who played for France at the World Cup, and Ferran Torres — Spain’s final match-winner in North America — are headline new arrivals. The latter played under Luis Enrique for his country. Because of the Club World Cup, the number of games might be the biggest danger for PSG, who played 121 competitive matches across the last two seasons with a meagre three-week break in between. Either side of that, the majority of their squad were involved in major tournaments in 2024 and have had another shortened summer holiday due to the World Cup.
No longer beholden to one or two superstar names, PSG went on to blow the rest of Europe away en route to winning a first Champions League title in 2025 as they destroyed Inter Milan 5-0 in the final. They followed that up by edging Premier League champions Arsenal on penalties in last season’s final in Budapest, becoming just the second side to retain the trophy since the inception of the modern Champions League in 1992. That is the kind of exalted company PSG are hoping to join, but the demands in Europe’s elite club competition are now greater than ever — the new Champions League format led to the Parisians playing a total of 17 games in order to win the trophy in each of the last two campaigns.
