Interviewed on the Paris Saint-Germain official website before the Champions League semi-final first leg against Bayern Munich, Vitinha, the 26-year-old Portuguese midfielder for PSG, offered a thoughtful perspective on his development since arriving in 2022. The Portuguese player particularly emphasized the influence of Luis Enrique and the collective maturity that has emerged from his methods.
Vitinha: “Winning trophies is very important, and I cherish all the ones I’ve won with the club.”
Vitinha, this is your fourth season at Paris Saint-Germain. How have you evolved since your arrival, both as a player and as a person?
“Obviously, it would be a huge failure if I hadn’t grown or improved in many areas, and if I hadn’t become a better person and a better player over these four years.” If you ask me to compare the Vitinha of 2022 to the Vitinha of now, I feel I’ve grown as much as a man as a player, and I’m very happy about that. The trophies won are very important, and I cherish all the ones I’ve won with the club, but what’s even more important is who I’ve become, and who I continue to become. It’s a process. I’m very happy with everything I’ve become here at Paris Saint-Germain. I hope to continue on this path in the future.
Vitinha: “I feel completely comfortable in my role”
You explained that being coached by Luis Enrique and learning from him was a turning point in your career. What did he bring to you?
Beyond his tactical and technical qualities as a coach, he’s a fantastic person, and I feel comfortable with him. We don’t just talk about football, and that’s also a good thing. He’s a very natural and down-to-earth person, and he’s very frank with you. You feel that his feedback is sincere and reflects what he thinks of you and what he wants from you, which is very important. Besides that, everything has gone well both for the team and for me personally, but also for him as a coach. I feel completely comfortable in my role, and not in my comfort zone, since we often step outside of it, which is a good thing. I feel completely fulfilled playing under Luis Enrique.
Vitinha: “In my opinion, if everything goes well in training, the results will follow.”
And that doesn’t just apply to you; it feels like it applies to the whole squad…
Of course, because you don’t just have a coach who makes you win, you also have a coach who convinces you to follow his playing philosophy. Considering how he works every day, the way we train, it seems unlikely not to like him. In my opinion, if everything goes well in training, the results will follow. The truth is, we’re all very happy.
In Vitinha’s comments, the most interesting aspect isn’t just the praise he heaped on Luis Enrique, but the way he describes a deeper transformation at Paris Saint-Germain. The Portuguese midfielder isn’t talking about a coach who simply organizes a team or issues tactical instructions. He’s referring to a coach capable of persuading, empowering, and pushing his players out of their comfort zone without losing them along the way.
This is where we see the maturity of the Parisian project: the players seem to embrace a shared vision, not simply submit to authority. Vitinha perfectly embodies this evolution. Arriving as a talented but still developing player, he now appears as one of the faces of a more stable PSG, more confident in its vision, and more mature in its operations.
This statement also comes at the right time, before a major European clash against Bayern Munich. It reveals a PSG that is no longer just looking to amass individual talent, but to build a lasting work ethic. And when a player as central as Vitinha speaks so much about confidence, sincerity and fulfillment, it says a lot about the balance found by Luis Enrique.
