Paris Saint-Germain are aiming to become only the second club in the modern Champions League era to win the trophy three times in succession after establishing themselves among Europe’s elite under Luis Enrique.
“Doing the treble is the objective, but we know it's going to be very difficult and that there will be obstacles in our way,” said PSG captain Marquinhos on the eve of the new campaign.
The Qatar-owned club endured years of disappointment in the competition before former Barcelona and Spain coach Luis Enrique took charge in 2023. PSG reached the semi-finals in his first season, then made further progress after Kylian Mbappe left in 2024.
Freed from dependence on one or two superstar players, they swept aside Inter Milan with a 5-0 victory in the 2025 final to claim their first Champions League title.
They then retained the trophy last season by beating Premier League champions Arsenal on penalties in the final in Budapest. That made PSG only the second team to defend the Champions League since the competition adopted its modern format in 1992.
A third consecutive triumph would place them in a far more exclusive group.
Real Madrid achieved the feat under Zinedine Zidane between 2016 and 2018. Johan Cruyff’s Ajax and Franz Beckenbauer’s Bayern Munich both won three successive European Cups during the 1970s, while Alfredo Di Stefano’s Real Madrid claimed five in a row from 1956 to 1960.
Those are the teams PSG hope to join, although the challenge is arguably greater now than it was in previous eras. The expanded Champions League schedule meant the French side had to play 17 matches to win the trophy in each of the past two seasons.
At their best, PSG are one of the most exciting sides in Europe. Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia provide speed and danger in attack, while full-backs Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes offer an additional attacking threat.
In midfield, the technically gifted Vitinha leads a trio capable of controlling matches against opponents with greater physical strength.
That combination helped PSG win two Champions League titles and two UEFA Super Cups, despite facing Premier League opposition 18 times over the past two years.
The workload could prove to be their greatest threat. PSG played 121 competitive matches during the last two seasons, with only a three-week break between them because of the Club World Cup.
Most of the squad had also featured in major tournaments in 2024, while another shortened summer holiday followed because of the World Cup.
That demanding schedule may account for PSG’s sluggish start to the current campaign. Even so, their advantage over the rest of France’s top flight remains so significant that they are still favourites to win Ligue 1, even if they regularly rest important players to keep them fresh for Europe.
Their Champions League campaign begins with one of the more favourable fixtures available, as Slovan Bratislava are first up. The difficulty will rise quickly, with PSG travelling to face Manchester City and then hosting Barcelona in October.
The squad has changed, with PSG selling one of their leading players in Bradley Barcola, who joined Liverpool for a substantial fee. Goncalo Ramos, Lee Kang-in and Ibrahim Mbaye, all useful squad members last season, have also departed.
Maghnes Akliouche, who represented France at the World Cup, and Ferran Torres, Spain’s final match-winner in North America, headline the incoming players. Torres previously worked with Luis Enrique while playing for his country.
“He was like a footballing father for me when I played for him in the national team,” Torres said after moving from Barcelona.
Luis Enrique’s influence has become greater than that of any individual player, and the manager has signed a new contract that will keep him in Paris until 2030.
“It is the first time I have stayed four years at the same club, and I am more motivated than I was in my first year,” he said, making clear that his desire for success has not diminished.
For PSG’s rivals, that continued hunger could be the most worrying development of all.