Enrique vs. Mbappé: How PSG Conquered Europe After Dumping Kylian

In early 2024, when Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) manager Luis Enrique boldly claimed that his team would be better off without their talismanic forward Kylian Mbappé, the footballing world reacted with skepticism, ridicule, and disbelief.

Mbappé, the Paris-born prodigy who had scored 256 goals in seven years at the club, was not just a player but the embodiment of PSG’s ambitions. His departure to Real Madrid in June 2024 was seen as a seismic blow to a club defined by its reliance on superstar talent.

Yet, on May 31, 2025, PSG’s emphatic 5-0 victory over Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League final at Munich’s Allianz Arena transformed Enrique’s audacious prediction into reality. This triumph, PSG’s first-ever Champions League title, marks a historic milestone and a vindication of Enrique’s vision for a collective-driven PSG—a team that, against all odds, has proven stronger without its former icon.

This article critically examines how Enrique’s bold statement, once dismissed as hubris, became the cornerstone of a cultural and tactical revolution at PSG, culminating in their long-elusive European glory.

To understand the magnitude of Enrique’s claim, one must consider the context of PSG in early 2024. Since Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) acquired the club in 2011, PSG had pursued a strategy of amassing global superstars to chase the Champions League trophy, their ultimate “Holy Grail.” The trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappé—often referred to as the “MNM” era—represented the pinnacle of this approach.

With a combined transfer outlay exceeding €400 million for Neymar and Mbappé alone (Messi arrived on a free transfer), PSG built a team around individual brilliance, hoping it would translate into European dominance.

Yet, despite domestic success, including six Ligue 1 titles during Mbappé’s tenure, the Champions League remained elusive. The closest PSG came was a 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich in the 2020 final, a defeat that underscored the limitations of their star-heavy model.

The MNM era was plagued by structural flaws. As noted by Reims captain Yunis Abdelhamid in 2023, “It’s easy to work the ball out of the defense because the front three don’t defend.” The lack of defensive cohesion, with only seven outfield players consistently tracking back, created a tactical imbalance that managers like Christophe Galtier struggled to resolve.

Mbappé, despite his extraordinary goal-scoring prowess (45 goals in 49 appearances in his final PSG season), was often criticized for his limited defensive contributions. Clips from the 2023-24 season showed Enrique urging Mbappé to press more aggressively, a demand that went unheeded. This disconnect highlighted a broader issue: PSG’s reliance on individual heroics left them vulnerable against Europe’s most disciplined sides.

When Mbappé announced his intention to leave in February 2024, the narrative around PSG was one of impending decline. How could a club lose its record goalscorer, a player who contributed to 33% of their Ligue 1 goals in the 2023-24 season, and expect to improve?

Enrique’s assertion that PSG would be “better in attack and defense” without Mbappé was met with derision. Critics labelled it as arrogance, a deflection from the pressure of managing a club with a history of sacking coaches for failing to deliver in Europe. Yet, Enrique’s confidence stemmed from a clear vision: to move away from a superstar-centric model and build a team defined by structure, intensity, and collective effort.

Enrique’s transformation of PSG began in the summer of 2023, when he took the helm following the departures of Messi and Neymar. Tasked with reshaping a club notorious for its “bling-bling” culture, as described by PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi in 2022, Enrique sought to instill a high-pressing, cohesive style reminiscent of his successful Barcelona tenure.

His philosophy was clear: no team could succeed in modern football without all 11 players contributing both offensively and defensively. As he reportedly told PSG executives before accepting the role, “You can’t have a team with a front three like that in today’s football. It doesn’t work.”

Mbappé’s departure in 2024 was the final piece of this puzzle. While Enrique acknowledged Mbappé’s brilliance, calling him a “phenomenon” and a “world-class player,” he also believed the team’s reliance on him stifled its potential.

Enrique’s vision was to distribute the attacking burden across multiple players rather than depending on a single star to score 40 goals a season. This approach was evident in the emergence of players like Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola, Gonçalo Ramos, Désiré Doué, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, all of whom scored over 10 goals in the 2024-25 season.

Dembélé, in particular, stepped into the leadership void, with Enrique praising his “spectacular series” of performances and his ability to contribute defensively as well as offensively.

Tactically, Enrique’s PSG became a model of balance. The 2024-25 season saw PSG make over five tackles per game more than in the 2022-23 season under Galtier, despite having more possession. They also allowed opponents four fewer passes before making a defensive action, showcasing a newfound aggression in midfield.

This defensive improvement was driven by the attacking players’ willingness to press, a stark contrast to the MNM era. As Enrique noted, “If you analyse our defensive improvements, it is about the way our attackers defend. They do an exceptional job.”

The statistical dominance was undeniable. PSG achieved an unprecedented 82.1% win percentage in Ligue 1 during the 2024-25 season, the highest in the QSI era. They remained unbeaten in Europe’s top five leagues after 20 games, sitting 10 points clear of Olympique de Marseille.

A 6-0 thrashing of Montpellier in August 2024, led by Barcola’s defensive work and offensive flair, set the tone for a season of ruthless efficiency. Enrique’s prophecy was taking shape: PSG was not just surviving without Mbappé but thriving.

The pinnacle of Enrique’s transformation came on May 31, 2025, when PSG demolished Inter Milan 5-0 in the Champions League final. This victory was not just a triumph but a statement of intent, a “jaw-dropping steamrolling” that showcased PSG’s new identity. The youngest squad in the competition’s last 16, featuring 19-year-old Désiré Doué, who made a decisive impact in the final, embodied Enrique’s vision of a youthful, dynamic team.

The road to Munich was not without challenges. PSG’s Champions League campaign began unevenly, with one win, one draw, and three defeats in their first five league-phase matches. A 2-0 deficit against Manchester City in January 2025 threatened an early exit, but a stunning 4-2 comeback in 30 minutes marked a turning point.

This victory, PSG’s first-ever Champions League comeback from 2-0 down, was a testament to the team’s resilience and Enrique’s ability to instill belief. Subsequent wins over Red Bull Salzburg (3-0), Manchester City (4-2), and Stuttgart (4-1) propelled PSG into the knockout stages, where they dispatched heavyweights like Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Arsenal en route to the final.

The final itself was a masterclass in Enrique’s philosophy. Unlike the MNM era, where PSG often relied on late-game heroics from Mbappé (who scored eight of their 19 Champions League goals in 2023-24), the 2025 final saw contributions from multiple players. The 5-0 scoreline reflected a team effort, with no single star dominating the narrative. Enrique’s post-match comments to TNT Sports encapsulated his approach: “I think it was a stimulus for all the team, for all the players, because we tried to manage the way we played.”

Enrique’s claim that PSG would be better without Mbappé was rooted in a fundamental truth about modern football: individual brilliance, no matter how exceptional, cannot compensate for a lack of collective cohesion.

Mbappé’s departure forced PSG to confront their overreliance on a single player, a problem that had plagued them in previous Champions League campaigns. The 2023-24 season, where PSG reached the semi-finals but lost 2-0 on aggregate to Borussia Dortmund, highlighted this issue.

Mbappé struggled to make an impact in those games, and the team’s lack of first-half goals in Europe (only four in 12 matches) underscored their dependence on his late-game magic.

However, Enrique’s success cannot be attributed solely to Mbappé’s absence. His predecessors—Unai Emery, Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino, and Christophe Galtier—faced similar challenges but lacked the authority to fully implement their visions.

Emery, for instance, lamented that “at Manchester City, Pep Guardiola is in charge. At PSG, Neymar has to be.” Enrique, by contrast, was empowered by PSG’s leadership to reshape the squad and culture. The signings of young, versatile players like Barcola, Doué, and Kvaratskhelia, combined with the emergence of Dembélé as a leader, gave Enrique the tools to execute his plan.

Critics might argue that Enrique’s success was aided by a favourable run in the Champions League or the financial muscle to recruit top talent. Yet, the transformation of PSG’s playing style—from a divided team of “eight players on one side, three on the other” to a unified, high-pressing unit—cannot be overstated.

The 2024-25 season saw PSG play with an intensity and creativity that earned praise from Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk, who called them “the best team I have faced in the last three years.” This was no accident but the result of Enrique’s meticulous coaching, which included demanding higher training standards and threatening to resign if they were not met.

PSG’s Champions League triumph raises broader questions about the sustainability of superstar-driven models in football. Clubs like Real Madrid, now grappling with integrating Mbappé alongside Vinícius Júnior, have faced similar challenges to those PSG encountered in the MNM era.

Enrique’s success suggests that a collective approach, where every player contributes to both attack and defense, may be the blueprint for sustained success in the modern game. His emphasis on “16 stars in attack, 16 stars in defense” after the Montpellier rout encapsulates this philosophy.

However, the transition was not without risks. PSG’s commercial revenues dipped slightly from €400 million to €391 million between 2023 and 2024, reflecting the loss of Mbappé’s global marketability. Yet, the club’s record overall revenues of €806 million suggest that on-field success can offset such losses.

Enrique’s gamble paid off, but it required unwavering support from PSG’s hierarchy, a luxury not afforded to his predecessors.

Luis Enrique’s assertion that PSG would be better without Kylian Mbappé was not arrogance but a calculated vision for a new era. By dismantling the superstar culture and building a team rooted in discipline, intensity, and collective effort, Enrique transformed PSG from a club of unfulfilled potential into a Champions League winner.

The 5-0 victory over Inter Milan on May 31, 2025, was not just a triumph but a vindication of his philosophy. While Mbappé’s legacy at PSG remains undeniable—256 goals and 15 titles in seven years—the club’s success without him proves that no player is bigger than the team.

Enrique’s PSG is a testament to the power of vision, adaptability, and collective belief, offering a model for clubs seeking to strike a balance between ambition and sustainability in the ever-evolving landscape of modern football.