The star is Luis Enrique - inside the plans to keep PSG at the top

Key points

• Paris St-Germain, back-to-back European champions, are chasing a third consecutive Champions League title and a third straight league triumph this season.
• PSG sit sixth in Ligue 1 with three wins, two draws and one defeat before Wednesday's Champions League tie at Manchester City.
• Luis Enrique has signed a contract until 2030, along with players including Joao Neves, Fabian Ruiz and Willian Pacho.

Paris St-Germain are attempting to become only the second team to win three consecutive Champions Leagues, while also chasing a third successive Ligue 1 title. The back-to-back European champions visit Manchester City for Wednesday's Champions League tie sitting sixth in Ligue 1 with three wins, two draws and one defeat.

Luis Enrique, who deeply admires Johan Cruyff, has designed this season around the difficulty of winning after winning. His side made a similarly slow start last season, and the coach said recently: "Do you want to bet against us?" The article states nobody in Paris is panicking.

Contract stability and squad depth

Luis Enrique recently signed a contract until 2030, and the club also confirmed new deals for Joao Neves, Fabian Ruiz, Willian Pacho, Lucas Beraldo and Senny Mayulu. The article says this sent a clear message that the project remains long-term.

The technical staff has changed very little since Luis Enrique arrived in 2023. Assistant Joaquin Valdes, who has worked with him since their Barcelona B days, talks to players personally and keeps his boss grounded, while Rafel Pol handles strategy as second in command. The main change is squad depth: Ousmane Dembele missed the win against Le Mans, and eight non-starters began that match before four stars came on to secure it.

Do you want to bet against us?

— Luis Enrique

Renewed attack and academy

The attack was rebuilt after Gonzalo Ramos, Bradley Barcola and Lee Kang-in departed. Dani Gil, Paris correspondent for the Spanish radio station COPE, said Barcola could not get the minutes he wanted and the club wanted hungrier players. Mika Godts and Ferran Torres arrived; Liverpool paid £123m for Barcola. Torres, who calls himself 'the Shark', has scored seven goals in France and netted the winner for Spain in the World Cup final.

Four homegrown players, Warren Zaire-Emery, Mayulu, Quentin Ndjantou and Ibrahim Mbaye, played in the Champions League last season. The first-team headquarters sit at the top of a hill and the academy at the bottom. The campus opened in November 2024 after a 350m euro investment, with professional teams, academies and the school sharing one site.