Enrique realises PSG's dream despite losing the biggest names in the game

Luis Enrique has won the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain, 15 months on from his bold prediction that they would be better without Kylian Mbappe.

A year after Mbappe's move to Real Madrid, PSG are European champions for the first time after hammering Inter 5-0 in Munich – the biggest winning margin in any European Cup or Champions League final.

The Spanish coach's second season in Paris has delivered a historic treble, having also won the Ligue 1 title and the Coupe de France, with their new identity led by young players such as Desire Doue, who scored twice and set another up in the final.

Mbappe’s departure was expected to leave a void as the striker had been the club’s leading scorer for six consecutive seasons and was the global face of their ambition.

Instead, they became the second French club to win the Champions League after Marseille in 1993, despite some early-season doubts building when PSG managed just one win in their opening five European matches.

This is how Luis Enrique moved on from Mbappe, and the lingering shadows of other big names including Neymar and Lionel Messi, to realise PSG's ultimate dream.

The turning point

Following a 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich in November, which left the team on the brink of elimination from Europe's biggest competition, Luis Enrique faced criticism for his tactical decisions and squad selections.

"You cannot understand," he told a reporter questioning his tactics and method.

Behind the scenes, Luis Enrique stayed resolute. He said he had gathered the players and staff for a key internal meeting.

“We are one of the best teams in Europe,” he insisted, explaining the problem was not talent, but execution.

The coach demanded an immediate improvement in their intensity, even threatening to resign if standards in training didn’t improve.

PSG hosted Manchester City in a must-win match in January and won 4-2, having come back from 2-0 down in a performance that transformed their season.

From then on, PSG were nearly flawless. A 4-1 win in Stuttgart secured progression, followed by knockout victories over Brest (by a 10-0 aggregate scoreline), Liverpool (on penalties at Anfield), Aston Villa and Arsenal.

Built to withstand pressure

This PSG team did not buckle under the pressure of knowing that the Champions League was the foremost target they would be judged on.

Ousmane Dembele had his best season, scoring 32 goals in all competitions, while Doue became a new star for the club and was directly involved in three goals in the final - an unprecedented feat.

Often criticised by the French media, goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma produced big moments at important times to keep them in games, while January signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia finished with a goal in the final to take his tally at the French club to eight in all competitions.

Luis Enrique also instilled some much-needed discipline into his squad, leaving Dembele out against Arsenal in the league stage after he was late to training.

Despite losing 2-0, the head coach said: “That was my best decision of the season.”.

Dembele returned a player transformed, following years spent as a poster boy for unfulfilled potential.

Now European champions, the trophy ends a 14-year wait for Qatar Sports Investments, who bought the club in 2011 with the aim of being the best in Europe. That is now a reality.