PSG Ready to Make Significant Change in Mindset With Luis Enrique, Journalist Says

Luis Enrique appears to be the name to take over at Paris Saint-Germain this summer. The 53-year-old brings a lot of experience and cache to the bench should he officially take charge. 

Furthermore, the PSG board might have a different tone with someone like Enrique coming in. On the program L’Equipe de Greg, Loïc Tanzi indicated that the Parisian board would change its communication and no longer wants to pressure the coach to lift the UEFA Champions League. 

“There is already one important thing; it was not a choice that was made to win the Champions League,” Tanzi said (h/t Canal Supporters). “There is a real feeling today at the club, shared by Nasser Al-Khelaifi, which is to say that we put too much pressure on the players and on the club in general to win this Champions League; it was a mistake early on when they bought the club. 

“We said it too quickly that we wanted to win this Champions League. And that put too much pressure on the club. The club will change communication a little. And the communication will be somewhat to say that we want to create an identity at the club, to play football well, and then the Champions League and the results will come. 

“With Luis Enrique, we are not going to say, ‘We took him to win this Champions League.’ Afterward, yes, of course, the dream today of PSG is always to win this Champions League. Luis Enrique will help and knows how to do it. They no longer took Luis Enrique because he knows how to manage a locker room with stars. He also knows how to make his team play well, and above all, he comes up with a way of operating. This is what created today all the conditions for his coming to PSG.”

Will Luis Enrique install his identity?

Enrique will sign a two-year contract with an option for a third, which is enough time to install a philosophy. The Spanish manager wants to have his identity on this team as PSG likely looks to emulate what Manchester City has with Pep Guardiola or Liverpool FC has with Jürgen Klopp. 

“Luis Enrique will have time,” Tanzi continued. “He will have the two years of contract. I can’t imagine PSG firing him next season, even if he doesn’t win the Champions League, because once again, it’s this communication that will change on the PSG side. What we want today at Paris Saint-Germain is to play well and have a team that gives pleasure to fans and football observers in general, and then we believe that with the results and a little while Champions League will happen. 

“We want to avoid what we have experienced this season, that is to say, having criticism of the results and the game (…) I think that in two years, we will be able to see a PSG which will try to have a slightly stronger identity.”

It will be in PSG’s best interest to finally have a manager that can install his ideas and philosophy without the constant pressure of the Champions League or bust mentality every year. If PSG lets Enrique work, they could finally have a manager above the players and not vice versa.