Luis Enrique led Paris Saint-Germain to their very first Champions League success last season, but in another world he might have been in the Premier League
Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique says that Tottenham Hotspur approached him to appoint him as a manager in 2023. His comments come as PSG prepares to include Spurs in the UEFA Super Cup after both European trophies have won in the previous term.
The Spanish coach moved to PSG in 2023 and won the Champions League in his second season with the club. Spurs, however, had him on their shortlist to replace Antonio Conte before he finally appointed Ange Postecoglou.
“There were some options in the last six months before I came to Paris and Tottenham was one of them,” said Luis Enrique. He was also associated with Manchester United before he left his position as Spain manager in 2022, but the timings were not quite good.
Ironically, United could have been on Wednesday evening as PSG's opponents in Udine. They were confronted with Spurs in the Europa League final in May, but fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat in which was ultimately the last match of Postecoglou.
PSG found it much easier in their own European final against Inter Milan. They were 2-0 within 20 minutes and finally walked out 5-0 to win the Champions League for the first time.
PSG followed their Champions League triumph with a run to the final of the club World Cup and lost to Chelsea. But now they have the chance to start the new season by getting more silverware in their hands.
“I am very proud and very happy to be here, to get the chance to win a new trophy,” said Captain Marquinhos. “It will be very difficult, we only resumed the training a week ago, while Tottenham is much better prepared. But even if we are not yet at 100%, I know we will all give it tomorrow to try to get the result we want.
“I am still hungry: I want to achieve things, helping the younger players, motivating and making sure they go further. We also have a coach who will continue to motivate and push us. That's how we will place ourselves in the best possible position tomorrow to approach this competition.”
In the run -up to the competition, PSG completed two major signing sessions. Lucas Chevalier has joined Lille and asked questions about the future of last season's first-choice goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, while Center-back Illia Zabarnyi has joined Bournemouth in a deal of a maximum of £ 57 million.
“For me, Paris Saint-Germain is the best club in the world and the best project for my future,” Zabarnyi said in his first interview as a PSG player. “I think this was the best possible choice, and I am here to give everything on the field. It's as simple as that.
“I felt that people wanted me to come here, and to be honest, that really motivated me as soon as possible! In the end that is what happened. This is a new experience for me, and it's great. I am still young, so I have to try new things, and that is why I think this was the right decision.”