\n<\/p>\n
Only Luis Enrique will know if he truly believed his own words when he said PSG would be better off without Kylian Mbappe.<\/p>\n
The France captain, the club’s record scorer, had just made public his decision to leave in May 2024 when Luis Enrique said his side would be better – both in attack and defence.<\/p>\n
“PSG will continue to be a great team and we’ll get even better. We will bring in players with a strong mentality and players who identify with the club – that’s how life works,” said Luis Enrique.<\/p>\n
Fast-forward 12 months and few would argue against Luis Enrique’s prediction after his side won Ligue 1 with six games to spare and without losing a game.<\/p>\n
The ease with which they won the domestic title – and a shortage of tough opposition – could have been seen as a negative in building for success in Europe.<\/p>\n
Marseille, in 1993, remain France’s only winners of the Champions League.<\/p>\n
Having finished runners-up in the 2020 Champions League, PSG reached the semi-finals twice and quarter-finals twice in the following four years.<\/p>\n
But there was an acceptance following Luis Enrique’s appointment in 2023 that something had to change if they were to get over the line.<\/p>\n
That summer forward Lionel Messi left to join Inter Miami and Neymar was sold to Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal.<\/p>\n
It marked the start of the end for the ‘Galactico’ era, with Mbappe’s departure 12 months later bringing it to a close.<\/p>\n
In their absence, Luis Enrique built an all-action, high-pressing side in his image, based on the collective rather than the individual.<\/p>\n
In Europe this season PSG started poorly and finished the group stage in 15th place.<\/p>\n
But, inspired by January signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, PSG have beaten four English clubs – Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal – in the knockout stages.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n