In the new look Paris Saint-Germain side that has reached the final of this weekend's Champions League, the superstar is no longer on the field, but instead in the Dugout.
In transforming a team that is not always taken seriously by their rivals in perhaps the most dreaded side on the continent, PSG coach Luis Enrique has also revived his own reputation after he was released from his previous job.
Now 55, Luis Enrique was appointed in July 2023, just after Lionel Messi left the French side after an overwhelming two -year spell. Neymar left later that summer.
The former Barcelona boss was fired by Spain six months earlier after their disappointing exit from the World Cup 2022 to Morocco in the last 16.
The PSGbaan was published something of a poisoned chalice, where his predecessors were unable to deliver the success in the Champions League who wanted the Qatarese owners of the club.
The team was handicapped by the presence of Neymar, Messi and Kylian Mbappe all together, three great attackers who of course did not make much for defending.
With the first two disappeared and the final departure of Mbappe inevitably, Luis Enrique understood that he would be given time to form a team in his form.
“We are building a new identity, our own style and way of playing and a new culture,” said PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi at the beginning of last season, adding that winning the Champions League no longer “something we are obsessed with”.
Last year they still reached the semi -final in Europe before they lost from Borussia Dortmund – with a domestic competition and Cup -Double also in the bag, it was a promising start for the new coach.
The problem was that Mbappe, with his contract that fell, was on its way. Yet the manager remained that PSG would be better without their top scorer of all time.
“If all goes well, I am convinced that we have a much better team than this year,” said Luis Enrique in February 2024.
It was hard to believe at the time, even less after PSG chose not to sign a new striker last summer.
Luis Enrique is on playing a style of football that is characterized by dominating possession and printing with a high octane.
But his critics have accused him of being stubborn and to stick rigid to one way of playing, even if it doesn't work.
“Luis Enrique had a very clear game plan, and when Plan A did not work, there was no plan B,” said Spain's Iago Aspas about his former coach.
Better without mbappe
Earlier this season, PSG dominated competitions but did not score, and the refusal of Luis Enrique to play with a traditional center-forward seemed wrong.
When an interviewer questioned his tactics after a defeat against Arsenal, the coach seemed to be arrogant and unpleasant.
“I don't intend to explain my tactics to you. You wouldn't understand,” he said.
A defeat against Bayern Munich in November left PSG in danger to go early from the Champions League, but the reversal since then is remarkable.
His energetic young side cheated Manchester City before she saw Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal in a triumphant tour through England.
The decision to play without a recognized number nine? No problem. Instead, he turned winger Ousmane Dembele into a deadly Finisher with 33 goals this season.
PSG is really better without Mbappe, and Luis Enrique deserves a huge credit for that.
Now he is one competition from joining an elite group coaches who have won the Champions League twice.
His last success was in 2015 when he led a Barcelona side, led by Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez to the title.
“It is always difficult to come to a Champions League final. All players and coaches dream of it, but not everyone gets there,” said the Asturian.
“The job I did at Barca was extraordinary. Even if people said it was easy to win the Champions League with that team, it wasn't.”
After three years in Barcelona he had two spells that were in charge of Spain, taking a time -out in 2019 when his daughter Xana died of bone cancer.
Now he believes that the experience of those years has helped him become a better coach in Paris.
“I have more experience now. I remember that I was really stressed for my first final,” he said.
“This time I hope to send a message of calmness. Otherwise I think I learned from my mistakes and that helped me to get where I am now.”