Luis Enrique is not unanimous among PSG followers and commentators. Among his former teammates, he also left not only good memories.
Current Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique has regularly been talked about in recent weeks for his statements at press conferences. In this week of the Champions League, the Spaniard will return to a club he knows well, with FC Barcelona. Enrique played 300 matches with the Blaugrana between 1996 and 2004, before starting his coaching career at La Masia in 2008. He also coached FC Barcelona between 2014 and 2017, winning a Champions League in 2015.
From his professional career at FC Barcelona, we often remember him as a particularly vocal player, a particularly effective leader and captain (108 goals in 300 matches in all competitions with FC Barcelona). He has also become a true icon in Catalonia, an achievement for a player who came directly from Real Madrid.
However, Luis Enrique did not leave only good memories with his Barcelona teammates. In the show Rothen ignites on RMC, Christophe Dugarry describes the midfielder as a player with “an oversized ego”. If the striker, world champion in 1998, did not leave a lasting memory in Barcelona during his short stay between July and December 1997, he is not shy of comments on his former teammate: “he had an enormous bulge! He spoke above everyone. However, at the time there was Guardiola, Figo…” The one who was captain of FC Barcelona is in fact not known for being the most discreet personality, like as evidenced by his statements at press conferences since his arrival in Paris last summer.
This is not the first time that Christophe Dugarry has openly criticized Luis Enrique. He had already criticized him some time ago for his management of Kilian Mbappé’s playing time, saying that the Parisian coach “does not like Kilian Mbappé”, and that the former Barcelona player “brings nothing to PSG”.
While he left FC Barcelona seven years ago to take charge of the Spanish selection, this is the first time that Luis Enrique will meet his former club. He will also find Xavi, whom he knows well. They were indeed teammates, between 1998 and 2004, before Luis Enrique became the coach of the current Barça coach. Xavi was even the captain of the Blaugrana during the 2024-2015 campaign, the year of FC Barcelona’s Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League treble. This is also the last time that FC Barcelona won the European competition.