Winning two consecutive Champions League titles might make a team want to catch its breath. Clearly, that is not the case for Paris Saint-Germain. Speaking on the Portugal Football Summit Podcast, Luis Campos (62) revealed that he was already thinking about a third victory right after winning the final in Budapest. It might seem greedy. Above all, however, it is a telling sign of what PSG has become.
Two Champions League titles, and still more to chase
One remark by Campos sums up the situation quite well: “the hunger is still there.” It could easily sound like a standard executive cliché. Yet, after two consecutive Champions League wins, it takes on a whole new dimension.
Because the real risk, after finally reaching the summit, was perhaps precisely that: feeling like the journey was over.
PSG had chased the Champions League for so long that one might have wondered what would happen once that obsession was satisfied. The answer is simple enough: they won a second one. And a few months later, their sporting advisor is already talking about a third.
Of course, that guarantees absolutely nothing. Fortunately so—otherwise, we could just skip straight to the spring. But this ability to avoid viewing the last two seasons as the ultimate destination is likely one of the most interesting indicators of the transformation at PSG.
For a long time, PSG’s main goal was to reach the level of Europe’s elite clubs. Today, the challenge is different: staying at that level. And to do that, one must avoid spending too much time admiring what has just been achieved.
The luxury of thinking about the next one
That is also what makes Campos’s remarks so interesting when reflecting on PSG’s European journey. For years, Paris simply wanted to win one. Every spring brought its share of improbable scenarios, disappointments, and grand theories about what was preventing the club from taking that final step.
Today, there is calm talk of winning three in a row. It is worth appreciating the magnitude of that shift. This PSG is no longer searching for the one night that will definitively validate its project. It now faces an almost opposite challenge: how to keep moving forward after experiencing two seasons that the club would likely have jumped at just a few years ago?
This is where Luis Enrique’s (56) work becomes particularly interesting. It is no longer just about building a team capable of winning. It is about preventing a team that has won a lot from thinking—even subconsciously—that it already knows how to win.
On that front, hearing Campos speak immediately about what comes next is rather reassuring. He isn’t dismissing what has been achieved; he simply refuses to treat it as the finish line.
Wanting a third doesn’t make it the norm
Yet, there is a line that shouldn’t be crossed. It is excellent news that PSG is thinking about a third Champions League title. It would be far less positive if we all started assuming they must win it.
Paris is now expected to perform, is studied closely, and is judged by the high standards reserved for Europe’s elite teams. That is the logical price of success. But a season isn’t a failure simply because it doesn’t invariably end with the “Big-Eared Trophy” in hand.
That is perhaps the delicate balance PSG must now strike. Internally, acting as if two Champions League titles aren’t enough. Externally, never forgetting just how difficult it is to win even one. The hunger Campos speaks of is likely one of the best things for Paris. Provided you keep your appetite without ending up believing that the feast has become mandatory.
