By BBC
Paris St-Germain underlined their status as one of European football’s greatest ever teams by becoming only the second club to retain the Champions League.
Their nervy 4-3 win on penalties over Arsenal following a 1-1 draw in the final in Budapest backed up their 5-0 win over Inter Milan in Munich 12 months ago.
In doing so they became the first side to successfully defend their title since Real Madrid’s three-peat from 2016 to 2018, and only the second to do it in the Champions League era – 1993 onwards.
Indeed, across the competition’s 71-year history PSG are just the 10th club to win successive titles.
“I’m mixed,” boss Luis Enrique said after the game. “Excitement, fatigue – everything. But this is the best moment of the season. We are still champs, two in a row, it’s amazing.”
All 10 of the outfield players who started PSG’s win over Arsenal, also started their victory over Inter Milan.
Only goalkeeper Matvey Safonov was new, in for Gianluigi Donnarumma who was signed by Manchester City last summer.
Over the past two years Luis Enrique’s team have dominated almost all competitions they have competed in.
Since the start of last season they have won eight of the 10 trophies available to them – only missing out on last summer’s Club World Cup and this campaign’s French Cup.
If they continue their dominance next season PSG could become just the fifth side to win three successive Champions League/European Cup titles.
But they still have a way to go to break Real Madrid’s record of five European Cups in a row between 1956 and 1960.
“Tonight PSG have made history,” said European football journalist Julien Laurens on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“Last season will always be special, but I think they will enjoy this more as they had to dig deep, they had to fight, and they had to come back.
“Last season was almost a bit too easy against Inter. Back-to-back you join the greatest of all time.”
Luis Enrique is now the fifth manager to win three Champions League/European Cup titles
‘They are in the conversation with those great teams’
ESPN journalist Laurens said PSG’s second Champions League crown “puts them in another dimension”.
The French champions also scored the most goals (45) and recorded the highest average possession (60.5%) in this season’s competition.
Laurens added to BBC Radio 5 Live: “Now they are in the conversation with those great teams. Pep [Guardiola] never did it with [Lionel] Messi and Barcelona, or with Manchester City either.
“If you win one it’s great, one and you are happy. But back-to-back is a different story.”
Paris St-Germain were playing in their third final. Their first was in 2019-20 when they lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich in Portugal.
But by winning a second Champions League title PSG also became the best-performing French club in the competition, going clear of rivals Marseille who have one title.
The Paris St-Germain fans unveiled a tifo suggesting they weren’t going to give up their title before the game
Luis Enrique ‘didn’t want PSG job’ at first
Head coach Luis Enrique follows in the footsteps of Bob Paisley, Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane in becoming just the fifth manager to win three Champions League/European Cup titles.
The Spaniard, who was unveiled as PSG boss in July 2023, also won the Champions League as a player with Barcelona in 2014-15.
Remarkably, “he didn’t want to take the job when he was first asked”, journalist Guillem Balague told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“[He said] ‘you are full of stars – I’m not interested’. He was promised [he could] change the culture and the question was different. It wasn’t how can we win the Champions League, it was what kind of football do we want?
“The answer was offensive, attractive and Luis Enrique represented that and he was convinced he could do that.”
Under Luis Enrique, PSG lost their record goalscorer and five-time Ligue 1 player of the year Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid on a free transfer in 2024.
But, arguably, the France forward’s departure has helped balance the team.
PSG scored 44 more goals across all competitions in their first season without Mbappe (2024-25) compared with his final season at the club.
“Everyone plays like a team,” says Balague of the current squad.
“PSG is the team with the fewest yellow cards in Europe’s top leagues. That is a reflection of emotional control and everyone playing for everybody instead of being angry.
“He [Luis Enrique] said before when Mbappe left he prefers five players scoring 10 goals than one scoring 50. This season PSG have 20 different goalscorers. It is a collective approach.”
They also equalled the record for most goals scored in a single edition of the European Cup/Champions League, with their 45 drawing level with Barcelona’s total in 1999-2000.
Luis Enrique has also created a brilliant relationship with PSG’s fans.
After their Champions League win last year, they unveiled a flag in tribute to their coach and daughter Xana – who died aged nine in 2019 – showing the pair planting a Barcelona flag in the centre circle after the 2015 European triumph over Juventus in Berlin.
And in Budapest, before their win over Arsenal, a giant banner showing Luis Enrique lifting the famous trophy was displayed among the French faithful.
He was cheered on by the PSG fans passionately as he was lifted into the air by his players while hold the Champions League trophy.
After collecting his medal he danced in front of them with president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, celebrating the trophy that for so long had eluded the club. Not once, but twice.
