Even as Luis Enrique was celebrating the decimation of Inter Milan after the 5-0 thumping, fans of PSG brought in some emotional French fervour to the occasion, unfurling a tifo banner of Xana planting a blue-and-red PSG flag into the center circle alongside her father.
Enrique had said prior to the final that he had planned a tribute himself should they win on Saturday, but the fans had him completely stunned as the tifo fluttered over a large section of the PSG stand.
Enrique, was in his usual black T-shirt and set about parading the Champions League trophy on the pitch when the PSG fans unfurled the tifo banner. “It was very emotional,” Enrique told reporters in a post match news conference. “It was beautiful to think that the supporters thought about me and my family.
“I don’t need to win a game or the Champions League to think about my daughter. I think about her every day. She is with our family and I feel her presence even when we are losing. It is about thinking about what we had together, thinking about the positives from the negatives for me and family,” he added.
“Xana is always with us. We always think of her, we love her. We carry her forever in our hearts.
“I think she would run among us here. It’s a wonderful thought and nice to share it with family and friends.
“I was delighted with the banner, but I don’t need a trophy to think about my daughter,” he added.
From Paris to Munich: WHAT AN EVENING! 😍❤️💙
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English)
Enrique was delighted to make many supporters happy with their first title. “Since day one, I said I wanted to win important trophies,” he said. “Paris had never won the Champions League. We did it for the first time. It’s a great feeling to make many people happy.”
Having scored two goals inside 20 minutes and completed the rout in the second half, with winger Désiré Doué netting the third, Enrique said, “We had a great start to the game, dominating from the beginning. But I wanted them to keep pushing, scoring, to ensure we won the game.”
Mbappé, Neymar express delight
Kylian Mbappé and Neymar congratulated Paris Saint-Germain after their former club won their first Champions League title on Saturday.
The biggest win in a Champions League final, with a 5-0 rout of Inter Milan in Munich came right after Mbappé left the Parc des Princes to join Real Madrid. Messi and Neymar had left much before, unable to Rin in silverware, but Mbappé’s joy for the former club, with whom he win 6 Ligue 1s, was evident.
“The big day has finally arrived,” Mbappé posted on Instagram. “Victory and with the manner of a whole club, Congratulations, PSG.”
Mbappé remains engaged in a legal dispute with PSG with the 26-year-old arguing that PSG owe him €55 million ($62 million) in unpaid wages.
Neymar, who spent six seasons at PSG and scored 82 goals, simply stated: ‘Congratulations PSG,’ along with five clapping emojis in an Instagram post that showed a video of PSG captain Marquinhos lifting the Champions League trophy.
PSG’s Galactico experiment saw Mbappé, Neymar and Lionel Messi herded in, to no trophy effect in Europe. They went close in 2020 when they lost the final to Bayern Munich in Lisbon. The ultimate goal flood cane from French teenager Désiré Doué, Achraf Hakimi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and 19-year-old substitute Senny Mayulu. Luis Enrique was thrilled.
