PARIS: Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have cemented their status as one of the greatest teams in the history of the Champions League after lifting the trophy two years in a row, and now they are eyeing a rare hat-trick of titles.
“Completing the hat-trick is our objective, but we know it will be very difficult and many obstacles will await us,” said PSG captain Marquinhos ahead of this season’s campaign.
After years of disappointment on the European stage, the Qatari-owned club began to show its true fangs after former Barcelona and Spain manager Enrique was appointed in 2023.
They reached the semi-finals in his first season before improving their form after Kylian Mbappe left the club in 2024.
No longer relying on one or two star players, PSG then dominated Europe on their way to lifting their first Champions League trophy in 2025, after thrashing Inter Milan 5-0 in the final.
They then defended the championship by defeating English Premier League (EPL) champions Arsenal on penalties in last season’s final in Budapest, thus becoming the second team to successfully defend the trophy since the modern era of the Champions League was introduced in 1992.
However, chasing three consecutive championships on the prestigious stage is certainly an achievement on a much different level.
Real Madrid did it under Zinedine Zidane when they dominated Europe from 2016 to 2018.
Ajax, managed by Johan Cruyff, and Bayern Munich, led by Franz Beckenbauer, each won three European Cups in a row in the 1970s, while Real Madrid, under Alfredo Di Stefano, recorded five consecutive titles in the early history of the competition from 1956 to 1960.
That’s the elite group that PSG wants to join, but the challenge in Europe’s most prestigious club competition is now greater than ever.
The new Champions League format has seen PSG play 17 matches to lift the trophy in each of the last two campaigns.