Enrique: Chelsea deserves this victory We are not the loser but the runner-up

 8:20am, 14 July 2025
In the final of the Club World Cup, Paris Saint-Germain lost to Chelsea 0-3. In an interview after the game, Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique talked about the final conflict, saying that he was involved in it to prevent the situation from escalating.

About this game

—Football is like this, everything can be explained. I think we need to revisit this game to determine what happened. At the beginning of the game, we performed well and put a lot of pressure on our opponents, but then we had some difficulties. We tried to score but failed. Chelsea deserves this victory, they performed well, and I have said that Chelsea is a great team.

About post-match conflict

—At the end of the game, there was a situation that I thought everyone could avoid, and my goal has always been to separate the players. There was a series of pushes after the game, and I always wanted to avoid this. I also saw Maresca pushing others too.

About the Future

-It is a very good thing to be a coach at Paris Saint-Germain and we know who is helping the team. There are always some people who will criticize the entire club. For us, the most important thing is to make the most of the holidays. Although the holidays are short, we must make good use of them.

failed to win the championship, is this a failure?

—In difficult times, you will know who is standing by you and who is not. I have had a characteristic since I was a child, that is, I am usually very popular with people who know me, and I don’t know if this seems a bit arrogant… but we are not losers, but runner-ups, because this is a high-level competitive sports. I won't use the word "loser".

Let's talk about the conflict with Joao Pedro

- I can express my feelings without any problem, a situation that everyone can avoid. I'll stop things from escalating, and I'll say it again, that's not the best situation, I have nothing more to add.

About the balance of the team

- This event originates from people's desire to know who is the best team in the world, it is a very interesting competition system where you can participate in a very high-level event. I think it's interesting, I like it very much, but we didn't win the championship because the opponent performed better.

About Maresca

- I saw Maresca also involved in the conflict, and obviously our intention was to separate the players, which is something we should all avoid. My intention was to separate the players to prevent further escalation, but that happened eventually.