PSG target European immortality as Champions League defence begins

“We want to win three in a row, but we know it will be very difficult and there will be many obstacles along the way,” PSG captain Marquinhos said before the season.

PSG have won the competition in each of the past two seasons. In 2025, they finally ended years of European frustration by beating Inter Milan 5-0 in the final to lift the club’s first Champions League trophy.

Last season, they defended the title by beating Premier League champions Arsenal on penalties in the Budapest final. They became only the second side to retain the competition since the modern Champions League began in 1992.

A third straight title would be another level entirely.

Real Madrid did it under Zinedine Zidane from 2016 to 2018. Ajax, led by Johan Cruyff, and Franz Beckenbauer’s Bayern Munich both won three European Cups in a row in the 1970s. Alfredo Di Stefano’s Real Madrid won five consecutive titles between 1956 and 1960.

That is the company PSG want to join.

Luis Enrique has changed the club since taking charge in 2023. PSG reached the semi-finals in his first season, then improved again after Kylian Mbappe left in 2024. The team no longer depends on one or two headline names.

At their best, PSG are very hard to stop. Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia lead a fast, direct attack, with Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes giving them real threat from full-back. In midfield, Vitinha controls the rhythm of matches, even against more physical opponents.

Their success has brought a heavy workload, though.

PSG played 121 competitive matches across the past two seasons and had only three weeks between campaigns because of the Club World Cup. Many players also had limited rest after major international tournaments in 2024 and the World Cup this summer.

That may explain their lack of sharpness at the start of this season. Still, PSG have such a big advantage over most Ligue 1 rivals that they remain favourites to win the title again, even if Luis Enrique rests key players to protect them for Europe.

Their Champions League campaign starts with Slovan Bratislava, a favourable first fixture. The schedule becomes much tougher soon after, with an away match at Manchester City and Barcelona visiting Paris in October.

PSG have also lost some squad depth. Bradley Barcola joined Liverpool for a huge fee, while Goncalo Ramos, Lee Kang-in and Ibrahim Mbaye have also left after playing useful roles last season.

The question now is whether PSG can keep their intensity through another long campaign. Two consecutive Champions League titles have already made Luis Enrique’s team one of Europe’s elite. A third would put them in a much smaller group.

However, Maghnes Akliouche, who represented France at the World Cup, and Ferran Torres — Spain’s hero in their overall triumph in North America — are notable arrivals.

Torres previously worked under Luis Enrique with the Spanish national team.

“He is like a father figure in my football career because I played for him with the national team,” Torres said after signing from Barcelona.

Luis Enrique is now PSG’s biggest star, perhaps even more than any player, and he has just signed a new contract keeping him in Paris until 2030.

“This is the first time I have stayed at the same club for four years, and I am more motivated than I was in my first year,” he said, insisting that his hunger to win has not changed.

That is a worrying sign for PSG’s rivals.