Leonardo, former player and sporting director of Paris Saint-Germain (2011-2013 and 2019-2022), spoke to RMC Sport on Tuesday evening. He was asked to reflect on winning the Champions League in 2025. According to him, there weren’t any mistakes that prevented winning beforehand, but rather a superb journey to get there.
Leonardo: “It was a bit unbalanced.”
What did you feel on May 31st?
It was so beautiful, everything! The last few years hadn’t been easy. It was a bit unbalanced. There were always complicated things. During my time there, there was COVID, the final without fans. But then, when you see the first half of the year being a bit difficult, and then things happen…
Luis Enrique as a central figure who passed on his experiences to a young team. I think it was somewhat logical that PSG would reach this level of squad. It was everyone’s dream to see a French team win. I love João Neves. Vitinha too, and Pacho, Nuno Mendes…
You recruited players who played in that final.
Yes, but that doesn’t change anything. The idea of having a younger team was already there with Donnarumma and Nuno Mendes.
Did you miss out on the opportunity after launching the youth project? Were the management already thinking about this idea after the stars?
To be clear, I’m not here to put anyone on trial. I’ve always thought of two clubs, Paris and Milan, and I’ll defend them as much as possible.
Leonardo: “It wasn’t just about piling up stars; the players were asking to come.”
Did you have to build something first to move to the next stage?
It was 15 years of a fantastic story. I was there at the beginning; I know what people thought, what they wanted. You say things, it’s your job, about who wanted what. But it’s a fantastic story. I had a lot of autonomy, and I’m grateful for that.
Was there money for recruitment too?
Of course, it’s part of every project. The financial rankings always reflect the sporting rankings. If you don’t have Qatar, you don’t win the Champions League.
Luis Enrique had a very different project compared to what came before. Do you regret not having had such a strong team collectively?
I can’t separate the times I was there from the times I wasn’t. PSG has had a great history. Qatar arrived in a different context, a different kind of football. It wasn’t just about piling up stars; the players were asking to come.
Leonardo: “It’s very difficult for you to understand.”
Not Messi or Neymar, they come for the money.
That’s what you say, without knowing the details. We’re not going to put anyone on trial. When you look at the last 15 years, there’s been learning, experience, things that lead to something fantastic.
Weren’t there mistakes before?
But of course! But that happens in other teams too.
The coaches received less support than others; Luis Campos had more freedom. They understood that it was better to do things differently, not to give the players too much freedom, to have Neymar do whatever he wanted.
It’s very difficult for you to understand. I understand, who here knows how a club is run? It’s very difficult to find the right balance. You say that Neymar did whatever he wanted, but what are you basing that on? The press?
No, on what you said too.
No, no, doing whatever he wants is something else entirely. If a player does something wrong, in the end, we see the result. What you’re saying is good for the press. But in the end, having players like Neymar, Mbappé, Messi, Cavani, Ibrahimovic, was very important. It’s a carefully constructed system.
Was Luis Enrique’s Champions League-winning team better than the Thiago Motta and Ibrahimovic era?
The team won. But when you look at the players from that time, it was very good. If you take the same squad as today in 2012, would they win? We don’t know. And the same goes for the squad from that era today.
