After years of heavy investment and assembling some of the world’s top football talent, the club bankrolled by Qatari wealth has finally reached the summit.
Paris Saint-Germain are the new kings of Europe, claiming their first UEFA Champions League title in dominant fashion with a resounding 5-0 victory over Inter Milan in Saturday’s final in Munich.
The trophy that not even Lionel Messi, Neymar or Kylian Mbappe could deliver to the French club was finally claimed by Luis Enrique, the Spanish coach who has overseen PSG’s shift from the era of galactico signings to one of genuine team-building.
Fitting then that Désiré Doué, the 19-year-old French forward emblematic of the club’s new generation, was the chief inspiration on a balmy night. He and substitute Senny Mayulu became the third and fourth teenagers to score in a Champions League final, following Patrick Kluivert in 1995 and Carlos Alberto in 2004.
Doué delivered a stunning performance, scoring twice and assisting another goal in just over an hour before being subbed off in the second half.
“I don’t have words,” Doué said. “But what I can say is, ‘Thank you, Paris’—we did it.”
Achraf Hakimi and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia also found the net, complementing Doué’s brace as Paris Saint-Germain secured the most dominant victory ever in a Champions League final, marking a historic moment in the competition’s 70-year history.
“This is everything—pure pride,” said forward Ousmane Dembélé. “It’s a first for PSG, and even better that we achieved it with style. We went to Liverpool, faced Aston Villa, and delivered big performances. We earned this, and so did our supporters.”
Now PSG can truly sit alongside the royalty of European soccer. Not by virtue of turnover or merchandizing, but on the merits of its achievements on the field.
The Champions League is the ultimate barometer of the continent’s elite clubs and up until now PSG has been a flashy contender that always came up short.
That all changed at Allianz Arena, the home of Bayern Munich, one of the titans of Europe, and a fitting stage for PSG’s crowning moment. Not least because it was against Bayern that it lost its only other Champions League final in 2020, leaving Neymar in tears in an empty stadium in Lisbon where fans were locked out because of the pandemic.
On this occasion, thousands of PSG supporters were there to revel in the moment, waving flags, lighting flares and drowning out their rivals from Inter, many of whose supporters left the stadium long before the final whistle.
They’d been partying in the streets of Munich throughout the day, but that was nothing compared to the scenes of joy when Marquinhos held the trophy aloft in front of teammates, with fireworks and golden confetti exploding behind them.
Marquinhos was emotional at the final whistle.
“I have nothing left, I have given everything,” the captain told broadcaster Canal Plus. “I love this team, he fans are proud of us. Make the most of it guys, I love you.”
PSG truly delivered when it mattered after so many setbacks in this competition. If there were any nerves from Luis Enrique’s players it did not show as they dominated Inter from the start.
It took just 12 minutes for the French champion to go ahead with a move of speed and precision when Vitinha’s threaded pass into the box found the feet of Doué. The forward could have shot, but instead slid in Hakimi to tap into an open net.
Former Inter player Hakimi’s celebrations were muted but PSG’s fans erupted.
Eight minutes later and the lead was doubled — though this time it relied more on luck than precision as Doué’s shot from the right of the box deflected off Federico Dimarco and past Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer.
He scored his second goal in the 63rd minute, calmly slotting the ball into the bottom corner after breaking through on goal.
Kvaratskhelia extended the lead with a fourth goal 10 minutes later, and Mayulu added his name to the list of teenage scorers in a final by finding the net in the 86th minute—just two minutes after coming on.
Luis Enrique, who previously lifted the Champions League trophy with Barcelona in 2015, has now joined an elite group of managers—becoming the seventh to win the competition with two different clubs, alongside legends such as Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola, and Jose Mourinho.
He is the 21st coach to win multiple European Cups. In a treble of trophies with PSG this season — with the Champions League being added to Ligue 1 and the French Cup — he matched his same achievement with Barcelona 10 years ago.
For PSG, this moment has been 14 years in the making since it was bought by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011 and, awash with newfound riches, started targeting marquee signings to speed up its route to the top.
In came superstars Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Beckham and Edinson Cavani. The ante was further upped with the arrivals of Neymar for a world record $262 million, Mbappe and finally Messi, allowing PSG to field possibly the richest array of forwards ever assembled, but still no Champions League trophy to show for it.
The departure of that final star trio over the past two years seems to have marked a key turning point for PSG, shifting the club’s focus from individual superstars to building a cohesive team.
But that transformation hasn’t come without a price.
While it’s tempting to frame PSG’s new direction as a move away from big spending in favor of a more organic, team-first approach, the reality is quite different. Despite the absence of high-profile names, PSG still boasts one of the most expensive squads in world football.
The win will also raise more questions about nation state involvement in soccer and so-called sportswashing, given Qatar’s lavish backing of PSG in enabling it to conquer Europe. It’s victory comes just two years after Abu Dhabi-backed Manchester City won the trophy, again against Inter.
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund owns Newcastle, which will return to the Champions League next season with ambitions of its own.
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