Nenê, the 44-year-old striker for EC Juventude (who played for Paris Saint-Germain from 2010 to 2013), spoke to L’Equipe on Wednesday. Naturally, the conversation touched on PSG and their Champions League title last season, as Paris kicks off their 2025-2026 campaign tonight against Atalanta (kick-off at 9pm, CET). This gave him the opportunity to express his positive opinion of the current squad and to defend the progress made under the QSI project since 2011.
Nenê: “Damn, it was worth the wait.”
Did you follow PSG’s journey in the Champions League?
Of course. I had a blast. The fans deserved it. The Champions League is special. PSG is still a young club, compared to others that are fifty years older. It was a long process, but every year they gained a little more experience. When you see the final, the way they played, you say to yourself: “Damn, it was worth the wait.” It was magnificent, almost effortless.
What did you like about this team?
The connection between the players, the coach (Luis Enrique), the fans—everyone pulled in the same direction, as if they were one person. It wasn’t always like that. We talked about it among the former players, we were all behind them. I’m very happy for Nasser (al-Khelaifi, the president), for the people there since my time.
Nenê: “There were phases.”
Did the club waste time after QSI took over?
But we didn’t know what the right path was! They wanted to do it faster, no one thought it would be this difficult. There were phases. Like building with Lego blocks. “We do this. Oh, that’s not good. Here, we need to make a change, here, we need this…” And in the end, the story is even more moving.”
It’s terrible to see this urge to criticize, to find things to “criticize.” PSG won the Champions League last season, at a certain stage of its development. This indicates that it has grown significantly since 2011. But that doesn’t mean that what was done before was full of mistakes. The question is almost embarrassing.
A football team is built, and it takes something strong, a special chemistry based on a solid club foundation, to win this trophy. Paris wasn’t that far away several times in previous years. Including 2020, but not only that. It wasn’t a waste of time.
Simply, there were different approaches to progress. In order to have this strong team today, the rest wasn’t useless. The arrival of stars took the club to the next level, in terms of image, revenue…and results. Reaching the quarterfinals or semifinals of the Champions League is no small feat. PSG established itself as a solid European top team, which then facilitated further signings. It had to grow. All for a great victory in the end, even stronger after the defeats experienced.
Nenê: “Looking back, maybe I would have stayed. But I don’t have any bad memories.”
“Does your departure still leave a small wound?
A wound, why? No, no. It was a mutual decision. At the time, Leonardo (sports director) and the management wanted to wait (for a contract extension). Everything was new, we were discovering things. People tell me: “You left too early.” It was the right time.” Personally, I didn’t want to wait, given what I had achieved (21 goals in 2011-2012, joint top scorer in Ligue 1 with Olivier Giroud, and winning the league title with Montpellier). I was eager to move on because I was very competitive. Looking back, perhaps I should have stayed. But I don’t regret anything about it.”
This is a common question for the Brazilian: does he regret his departure, perhaps a premature one? Nenê doesn’t hide the fact that he could have made a different choice, knowing what happened later at Paris Saint-Germain. But it’s always easier to judge things in hindsight. A career isn’t simple; there are many factors involved. Above all, the striker can be proud of his journey and the legacy he left at PSG.
