Achraf Hakimi, Paris Saint-Germain’s 26-year-old right-sided piston, spoke in the mixed zone after the 2-1 victory (3-1 on aggregate) over Arsenal this Wednesday at the Parc des Princes as part of the return semi-finals of the Champions League 2024-2025 (final May 31). He spoke of the joy of qualification, and of his former club, Inter Milan (2020-2021), whom he will face in the final.
Hakimi “a special moment to play in the final against a team that is in my heart.”
“We’re happy about this moment, we’re proud, we have to enjoy this moment. Everyone celebrated. We have to enjoy this special moment.
There’s pride, joy at doing what we’ve wanted to do since the start of the season, getting to the final and having the opportunity to bring home a very important trophy that our fans and the club have been waiting for for a long time. We’ve come a long way, but we want to make history. We took a photo together in the dressing room.”
“It’s a special moment to play in the final against a team that’s in my heart. I had a great time there (in 2020-2021). I’m happy to see my old teammates, but I’m going to stay focused on Paris to bring home what we’ve been waiting for for a long time.”
It was a special and historic moment for the club to reach the Champions League final after an emotional double-header. Although PSG have been content to play only English clubs throughout their campaign, they managed to eliminate title contenders Liverpool, as well as favourites Arsenal after knocking out defending champions Real Madrid.
The most difficult part of the campaign now lies in the final against Inter Milan. The Parisians are just one match, 90 minutes, perhaps 120, away from writing the most beautiful page in their history.
They’ll need to be there for it, as they’ve been doing since January, when a crazy 4-2 win over Manchester City proved to be the turning point of their season.
