Luis Enrique and Marquinhos insist there is no PSG obsession with winning Champions League

Ligue 1 side begin group-stage campaign with match against Borussia Dortmund at Parc des Princes on Tuesday

Left to right: Paris Saint-Germain's Ethan Mbappe, Achraf Hakimi and Kylian Mbappe during a training session at Poissy, west of Paris, on September 18, 2023. PSG take on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday. AFP

Paris Saint-Germain's Nordi Mukele and Kylian Mbappe. AFP

PSG midfielder 15 Danilo Pereira controls the ball. AFP

Paris Saint-Germain's Warren Zaire Emery passes the ball. AFP

Manager Luis Enrique talks to the PSG squad at training. AFP

PSG players inclduing Danilo and Milan Skriniar during training. AFP

PSG's South Korean midfielder Lee Kang-in. AFP

PSG defender Achraf Hakimi. AFP

PSG manager Luis Enrique. AFP

PSG's Achraf Hakimi, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Fabian Ruiz. AFP

PSG forward Kylian Mbappe during training. AFP

PSG forward Kylian Mbappe enjoys a joke during training. AFP

Left to right: Warren Zaire Emery, Hugo Ekitike and Ethan Mbappe. AFP

Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique insisted the club is not obsessed with winning the Champions League, ahead of their opening Group F match against Borussia Dortmund.

The French champions are still looking for their first European Cup victory despite huge investment by their Qatari owners over the previous 12 years, with an estimated €1.3 billion spent on new players.

Even the arrivals of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi, Sergio Ramos, Gini Wijnaldum and Lionel Messi in the summer of 2021 could not inspire the team to Champions League glory as PSG exited the competition at the last-16 stage for the next two campaigns.

Only goalkeeper Donnarumma and full-back Hakimi remain at the club with the other three departing over the summer – along with Brazilian attacker Neymar – as new manager Luis Enrique implements a change in club philosophy.

They club brought in 10 players this summer, three of whom were free agents and all but one under 27 years old in a major shift in transfer policy.

PSG have started the new Ligue 1 season in mixed fashion, winning two of their five league games, and go into the match against Dortmund having lost 3-2 at home to Nice on Friday, despite two goals from Kylian Mbappe.

The club have won Ligue 1 nine times since the Qatari takeover in 2011 but the Champions League crown remains elusive as they begin their latest attempt to rule Europe against the Bundesliga side in a tough group that also includes AC Milan and Newcastle United.

But Luis Enrique – who won the Champions League with Barcelona in 2015 – believes any talk of a Champions League obsession is not healthy for any club.

“When a club is obsessed with something, it's never a good sign. You have to have ambition but obsession doesn't work in any area of life,” Luis Enrique told reporters on Monday, ahead of the game at Parc des Princes.

“You have to wait and see how the competition goes, football is a wonderful sport, any result is possible.

“You can play an incredible game and lose, play badly and win. As a club, we play all competitions to win them, that's the objective. It's very ambitious but it's necessary.”

Defender and club captain Marquinhos echoed his manager's sentiments, saying: “The Champions League is not an obsession, there isn't pressure.

“We're working because we're competitors, and the club is determined to win every competition, including this one. We know the path, it's a long one.

“We have to take it step by step, it's a very difficult competition to go after.”

Despite the up-and-down start to the campaign, Luis Enrique is happy with how his players have reacted to what is PSG's fourth manager in less than three years.

“There's a lot of information to pass on, ideas and concepts that the players need to assimilate. I've found the team to be very receptive,” the Spaniard said.

“The fans are incredible. Their support is magnificent, even when the results aren't up to scratch.

“I already have this experience, this process that takes time … I feel calm, there will be good football and good results, I'm sure of it. ”