
EPL Index
·2 Juni 2025
PSG stars shine in Europe as club’s identity faces fresh challenge

In partnership with
Yahoo sportsEPL Index
·2 Juni 2025
At Munich, where football’s finest gathered and dreams are often dashed, Paris Saint-Germain carved their name into the history books. This time, their stars did not flicker under pressure. This time, they illuminated Europe.
In a 5-0 dismantling of Inter Milan, PSG produced a performance that will be remembered not just for its technical precision but for its soul. The elegance of their attacking play, the synchronicity of movement, and the sheer expressive joy from their front line captured the imagination of a watching world.
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Luis Enrique, a coach both admired and admired still more for his resilience through personal heartbreak, has constructed a side that flows with meaning. His players did not just lift the Champions League trophy. They danced beneath it, earning their moment in the spotlight through skill and sacrifice.
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In Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola, PSG possess three of the most electrifying wingers in Europe. Their style is uninhibited, each touch a flicker of imagination, each run a declaration of youthful intent.
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“They have a trio of wingers who play with the joy and verve of mountain springs made human.” That image was not hyperbole at The Allianz. These players flowed through Inter like spring water over stone, impossible to contain and dazzling to witness.
Ousmane Dembélé’s story adds depth to the spectacle. “Over his career, Ousmane Dembélé has been tossed on a sea of troubles, and at times sunk beneath its waters, but resurfaced to realise his sparkling potential.” In the Champions League final, he surged with conviction and clarity, fulfilling a destiny that once seemed out of reach.
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Each player has a personal journey that led to this point. “Every player, staff member, and yes, possibly even executive, has their own individual story of overcoming and toil which, on Saturday night, was realised in the glare of a thousand camera flashes.”
Yet no victory, however poetic on the pitch, is unburdened by context. As PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi stood on the podium congratulating his players, another narrative jostled for attention.
“This was the moment that plucky Qatar… repaid its 14-year investment in a club with boundless untapped potential.” For some, it was the apex of a sporting project. For others, it was the final page in a marketing playbook.
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Football is not naïve. “Football is aware that Qatar has tooled sport to obscure the brutality of its human rights record and to market its fossil fuel investments.” And yet, football carries on, eyes open, driven by its own contradictions.
The PSG stars earned their silverware. Their individual feats of brilliance demand praise. But the crest on their chest represents more than a football club. From the Qatar Airways badge to the funding of their galaxy of emerging stars, the influence of a nation-state is everywhere.
This was not a victory without cost. “They spent €240million (£202m; $272m) on new signings this season, on the back of €455m one year before.” For all the talk of youth and development, this is still a team constructed with the power of wealth.
It would be easy to single PSG out. Yet football has few innocents. “The misty-eyed reverence for benevolent local tycoons is a notion that went extinct before the Tasmanian tiger.” American hedge funds, Eastern European oligarchs, and ageing magnates all shape the game. No model is clean.
This Champions League victory is a tribute to every individual in that PSG dressing room. Their perseverance is undeniable, their ability unquestioned. But “every person, at once, carries both what we ourselves are and we as ourselves represent.”
PSG’s players represent artistry, resilience and ambition. PSG, as a collective, represent something far more complex.