Champions at Last: PSG Wins their First European Cup

After French star Kylian Mbappé’s departure prior to the 2024/25 season, many thought that Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) would struggle to maintain their status as one of the strongest teams in the world. Despite being home to soccer’s greatest stars, including Lionel Messi, Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, known as Neymar or Neymar Jr., and Mbappé, over recent years, the club has failed to achieve any success in European competitions. In fact, prior to 2025, the club had never lifted a European cup, with Marseille being the only French side to have won a Champions League back in 1993. 

PSG often faces heavy criticism from pundits due to its ownership and dominance in the French domestic league. Owned by Qatar Sports Investments, a fund worth over $450 billion, the club has the resources to obtain the greatest superstars in the sport. In 2017, for example, PSG purchased the Brazilian winger Neymar Jr. for a record price of $263 million from FC Barcelona. A year later, in 2018, the Parisian giants splurged another $195 million to obtain the young French talent Mbappé, who would establish himself as one of the world’s top players at the World Cup in Russia that year. Furthermore, when Messi was forced to leave his lifelong club, Barcelona, in 2021 due to financial struggles, PSG was the club with the monetary means to attract him. Not only did Paris’s large spending place a spotlight on the club, it also caused opposing fans to feel as though PSG had an unfair advantage in comparison to smaller clubs that are generally forced to foster and produce their own talent.

However, Paris’s greatest strength, its extraordinary lineup, is often associated with the club’s lack of success. Despite being the dominant side on paper in comparison to most other clubs, PSG has failed to live up to their potential. The closest the club have ever been to winning a European trophy was in the 2019/20 season, where PSG was narrowly defeated by Bayern Munich in the Champions League finals. During the era in which Messi, Neymar, and Mbappé all played together, Paris failed to make it past the round of 16 in the Champions League, losing its matchups versus Real Madrid and Bayern in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons respectively. Many theorized that PSG’s lack of success was a result of the clashing of the “oversized egos,” as former French player Emmanuel Petit described it. PSG’s star players, all accustomed to being the sole playmaker in a side, lacked chemistry and failed to properly utilize one another. Regardless of the cause, one thing remained clear: PSG were perennial underperformers. 

In July of 2023, though, things would begin to change for Paris, beginning with the hiring of Spanish manager Luis Enrique, one of soccer’s most talented and decorated head coaches. Upon the beginning of Enrique’s tenure, it became evident that he would not stand for the individualistic environment that had previously plagued PSG’s team spirit. Enrique demanded full control of his side from the start, reiterating that he reserved the right to change his lineup as he saw fit, regardless of any one player’s status. Notably, in their 2024/25 Champions League campaign he made the controversial decision to drop winger Ousmane Dembélé in a crucial match versus Arsenal for disciplinary purposes. He explained that “When a player doesn’t meet their obligations, this is the sort of thing that can happen.” Enrique demanded leadership and defensive effort from attacking stars like Mbappé, demonstrating his emphasis on one’s commitment to the team rather than individual moments and statistics. In PSG’s 2023/24 campaign, they made a deep run in the Champions League, ultimately falling short to the German side Borussia Dortmund. 

Following the 2023/2024 season, Mbappé announced that he would not be renewing his contract with Paris; instead, he would sign for Real Madrid as a free agent. This news left many PSG fans devastated, as Mbappé had been the club’s leading goalscorer and greatest talent for several years. However, many did not anticipate that this would actually make the team stronger. Without one main man, PSG was finally able to develop team unity that allowed them to play “scintillating football,” as described by British commentator Darren Fletcher. Mbappé’s departure also allowed PSG to give opportunities to new young talents, such as 19-year-old Désiré Doué, who was crucial in Paris’s 2025 campaign. Dembélé also began to thrive beyond expectations, now that Mbappé was no longer the focal point of the attack, and has recently emerged as a Ballon D’or frontrunner as a result. 

In addition to new offensive success, PSG central defensive midfielder Vítor Machado Ferreira, known as Vitinha, found his stride over the course of this season, becoming arguably the world’s best player in his role. Alongside Vitinha is Spain’s Fabian Ruiz, who has been in top form ever since winning the Euros with the Spanish national team in the summer of 2024. PSG rounded out their midfield by signing João Neves from the Portuguese side Benfica. Brazilian defender Marcos Aoás Corrêa, known as Marquinhos, remained as a strong backbone and leader for the side, leaving Enrique with a strong, united lineup. So, despite a shaky league-stage performance, Paris found themselves with the opportunity to play into the round of 32 in the Champions League. Facing off against French opponents Brest, PSG blew by with a dominant 10-0 victory on aggregate. Their next matchup was against Liverpool, the most dominant side in Europe at the time. The reds had won seven of their eight league phase matches, leaving them in first place going into the playoffs. For many, Liverpool were the favorites to win it all, and certainly the heavy favorites to advance to the quarter finals. 

Paris dominated the first leg of this matchup, but had nothing to show for it. In the last five minutes of regulation time, Liverpool’s substitute, Harvey Elliot, scored off of a deflection, allowing Liverpool to escape the Parc de Princes somewhat undeservedly a goal ahead. PSG were now set to face their biggest challenge: they had to make the trip to Anfield, especially notorious for coming alive on European nights, a goal behind and somehow pull out a victory. Despite the Liverpool atmosphere, though, PSG found an equalizer just 12 minutes into the second leg. They then managed to hold Liverpool goalless for the duration of the match, sending the tie into penalty kicks, where Paris’s Italian giant of a goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma managed three saves, winning the matchup for PSG. 

This victory established PSG as the new team to beat in the competition, as well as the dominant side in Europe. Paris defeated two more English sides in its next matchups, eliminating Aston Villa and Arsenal, earning them a spot in their second Champions League final in five years. This time, they were set to face Inter Milan, one of Italy’s strongest teams, who were coming off an impressive victory over Barcelona 7-6 on aggregate. Despite PSG’s performances in previous rounds, many still believed that this would be an extremely close matchup. However, Paris thrashed Inter 5-0, the largest deficit of any Champions League final in history. Doué was the Man of the Match, recording two goals and an assist at just 19 years of age. 

Paris’s victory marked a great milestone both in terms of reestablishing France as one of football’s leading countries, but also in terms of demonstrating the importance of team dynamics over individual greatness. The unity between Enrique and PSG is best demonstrated by the tifo displayed by PSG ultras following this victory: this banner depicted Enrique and his late daughter Xana Enrique, who tragically lost her life to bone cancer at the age of nine in 2019. The two are shown planting a PSG flag in the center circle of a pitch, establishing Paris’s victory. This gesture highlights the deep personal connection between the fans of Paris and their beloved manager.