Luis Enrique believes he has constantly been ‘attacked’ and ‘vilified’ by the press throughout his managerial career – but dismissed their relevance to him.
He had a challenging start to his PSG reign and they barely scraped through their Champions League group but they are on a remarkable unbeaten run in Ligue 1 since September.
Now PSG are in the semi-finals of the Champions League after thumping Barcelona 4-1 on Tuesday to overturn a 3-2 deficit from the first leg of their last-eight tie.
‘It’s not that I read little (the press), it’s zero,’ Enrique said.
‘I’ve been a coach for over 10 years, I’ve been attacked, vilified, ignored or criticised. It’s not a problem, I like it.’
PSG manager Luis Enrique claimed he has been ‘attacked’ and ‘vilified’ as he hit out at critics
PSG are in the Champions League semi-finals after a dramatic 4-1 win over Barcelona
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Enrique can afford to be smug for now considering that PSG could be on course for a Treble.
Alongside their 10-point led in Ligue 1 and Champions League semi-final berth, they look forward to the Coupe de France final next month.
Expectations are high in Paris and even one defeat can prompt an inquest which sees the manager and players heavily criticised.
However, Enrique has experiened the highest of joys and pain as a manager and will take all of this in his stride.
At Barcelona, he won a Treble in 2014/5 as they played stunning football and recaptured the swagger they had had under Pep Guardiola.
His three years there saw him rise to pre-eminence in the managerial world but he was exhausted by the end of it.
However, his three-year tenure in charge of Spain ended miserably when they were knocked out of the 2022 World Cup in the last 16 by Morocco on penalties and he was replaced by the nation’s U21s manager, Luis de la Fuente.
