PSG president labels Luis Enrique ‘the best manager in the world’ after triumph over Arsenal | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta might think Arsenal have been the best team in Europe, but Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi believes he has the best manager in the world.

Al-Khelaifi and Qatar Sports Investments took control of the French club in 2011. They had not won the title since 1994, the year Arsenal last triumphed in Europe as Cup-Winners’ Cup Final winners under former boss George Graham.

Now the Parisians have just won their eighth Ligue 1 crown in the past ten years and the are 90 minutes away from winning their first Champions League trophy. That opportunity is there having defeated Arsenal in a closely contested two-legged semi-final to earn the right to face Inter Milan in Munich on 31 May.

The Qatari chief cautioned against celebrating too much too soon, however, when he told Hayters TV: “It’s not finished. There’s one match, very, very important. Today we’re going to celebrate. We’re going to focus on the match, the final of Munich.”

PSG lost the covid final to Bayern Munich in 2020, but this time seem better placed to go all the way.

Al-Khelaifi added: “This is the first final we play with our supporters, with our fans. We’ll be there. So it’s something very, very special. Inter Milan is fantastic team. They’re two years now in the final so we know the danger of Inter Milan. I would like to congratulate them to reach the final. We are in the final now and you know everything can happen.”

The superstar era of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe is already a distant memory as Spanish coach Luis Enrique has used an old-fashioned combination of hungry youth and experienced players to reach the top.

PSG have already beaten the Premier League’s best in the form of Arsenal, Liverpool Manchester City and Aston Villa to reach the final and Al-Khelaifi reckons it is all down to his masterstroke in appointing Enrique at the time Arteta was also linked with the job in Paris.

He added: “This year the dream was to build the team, build a young team for the future. That was our objective. The final was not our objective when we were trying to qualify through the group stage. But I think what I felt and I smelled something between the players, the team spirit, the coach, the sport advisor, the fans, everybody there is something so special.

“Enrique? He is the best manager in the world.

“The first thing he told me when I spoke to him is ’you’re going to see your team, the club, your team playing amazing football. You’re going to enjoy it’.

“That’s what he said … ‘I want to have offensive [football]’ and that’s what he told us and he’s done it. And he’s the best coach in the world.”