Luis Enrique joined Paris Saint-Germain with a solid honours list and a magnificent international reputation already behind him.
The former midfielder began his playing career at Sporting Gijón in 1989, before moving to Real Madrid three years later. The Spaniard would eventually hang up his boots at FC Barcelona after plying his trade at the Catalan club from 1996 to 2004, but four years after his retirement as a player, Enrique decided to make the move into the dugout, embarking on a managerial career at the club where he had ended his playing days. The new coach started out by taking charge of Barça’s ‘B’ team between 2008 and 2011 before heading to Italy and spending a season at AS Roma. Upon his return to Spain, Enrique took over at Celta Vigo for the 2013–2014 season before again finding himself back at FC Barcelona, this time as the club’s first-team head coach. In his very first year back at the Culés, he earned his first three pieces of silverware as a manager after taking home a historic Champions League/La Liga/Copa del Rey treble, but in 2017, his third spell at the club came to an end.
Not long afterwards, Enrique was named as the new head coach of the Spanish men’s national team, with which he would eventually enjoy two stints – one between July 2018 and June 2019 and another between November 2019 and December 2022 – during which time he reached the UEFA EURO 2020 semi-finals and the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League final. Then, in July 2023, Enrique became Paris Saint-Germain’s new manager, signing a two-year deal. His story in the French capital therefore very much remains to be written!
