Former Spanish national team head coach Luis Enrique marked his return to a club managerial position with his appointment at Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain. His tenure began with a series of challenges, disappointing results, and a conflict of interest with star forward Kylian Mbappe, making the situation difficult.
Enrique was also considered among the candidates for the Napoli manager role. The Italians were exploring options for replacing Luciano Spalletti, who guided them to a historic scudetto-winning season. The club president disclosed that they tried to sign the Spaniard, but the discussions were constrained by financial terms.
Napoli tried signing Luis Enrique in the summer
Reportedly, the Serie A side expressed interest in securing the services of the former Barcelona head coach, identifying him as the ideal candidate to succeed Spalletti and take over the club. Napoli aimed to secure Enrique’s signature on a multi-year deal for approximately €10 million.
During the summer, the extensive negotiations between the two parties had nearly reached an agreement. However, the 53-year-old tactician’s salary demands became a stumbling block for the deal, according to Napoli’s president, Aurelio De Laurentiis.
He stated, “I spoke to Luis Enrique for three days, and we almost reached an agreement in June… but then he rejected it as he wanted a huge salary. I also spoke to Nagelsmann but no way. Thiago Motta was our main target but he said no.”
Luis Enrique had received several offers from Premier League clubs but ultimately chose French giants PSG as his next destination, signing a two-year contract as the head coach. Meanwhile, Napoli secured Rudi Garcia in the summer after failing to secure deals with Enrique and Thiago Motta.
Luis Enrique happy to return to Spain for UCL
At PSG, Enrique faced initial challenges, but fortunately, over time, his team’s performance significantly improved, leading them to the top of the league in France and securing UCL knockout qualification. He had been out of work since resigning from the Spanish national team manager position.
Paris Saint-Germain is drawn against Real Sociedad in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 fixtures, signifying Luis Enrique’s return to Spain. He expressed his joy on the occasion.
He said, “I’m pleased with the draw because I really wanted to go back to Spain, we know Real Sociedad well. They have lots of players who have been with Spain, in the national team with me.”
Enrique’s previous club managerial spell was with Barcelona from 2014 to 2017. Under his leadership, the Catalans established sheer dominance across Europe, achieving immense success in terms of trophies. Now, at Paris Saint-Germain, he aims to replicate the same level of success.
