POISSY: Former Barcelona and Spain coach Luis Enrique has been appointed as the new coach of Paris St-Germain on a two-year deal, the French champions announced on Wednesday.

The 53-year-old, who had been a free agent since being sacked as Spain coach last December, replaces Christophe Galtier after his departure from the club was confirmed earlier in the day.

Luis Enrique was unveiled by PSG at a press conference alongside the Qatar-backed club’s president Nasser al-Khelaifi at their brand new training complex in Poissy, to the northwest of the French capital.

“I’m delighted to be joining Paris in order to enjoy a new experience,” Luis Enrique said in a club statement.

“It’s so exciting to meet new people, to live in this city, to learn a new language and, above all, to manage PSG.”

Enrique is the eighth man to lead the club since the transformative Qatari takeover of 2011 and, like those before him, will be charged with bringing them the success in the Champions League that has so far proved elusive.

PSG have never won Europe’s most prestigious club competition, coming closest when they lost in the final to Bayern Munich in 2020.

They have gone out in the last 16 in five of the last seven seasons, losing to Bayern at that stage in the campaign just finished. That defeat proved costly for Galtier.

Enrique arrives with a pedigree in the Champions League, having won it as coach of Barcelona in 2015 when a brilliant team led by an attack of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez beat Juventus in the final.

He now joins a club beginning their latest rebuild following the departure of Messi at the end of his two-year stay.

Galtier had only been in charge for one season and still had a year to run on his contract, but his departure had been expected ever since the end of the last Ligue 1 season a month ago.

MBAPPE FUTURE IN DOUBT

There are doubts surrounding the future of superstar forward Kylian Mbappe after he told the club he would not renew a contract that expires next year.

Khelaifi insisted Mbappe “must sign a new contract” if he wants to remain at the club next season.

Mbappe said last month he would not extend his contract, which expires next year, but has indicated he wants to remain for a final season. The club must therefore sell the player in this transfer window or lose him for nothing when his deal ends.

“Mbappe has already said he would not leave for free”, said the PSG president. “If someone has made him change his mind, that is not my fault.”

Several high-profile new signings are expected to be confirmed as the club prepares to start pre-season training in the coming days, with a tour to Japan scheduled for later this month.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2023