Is Champions League treble a real possibility for PSG?

PARIS — Luis Enrique's Paris Saint-Germain has already secured its status as one of the Champions League's greatest teams by winning the trophy in back-to-back years, and now it has its sights set on a rare treble.

"Doing the treble is the objective, but we know it's going to be very difficult and that there will be obstacles in our way," said PSG captain Marquinhos on the eve of the campaign.

After years of disappointment in Europe for the Qatari-owned club, PSG became the real deal after former Barcelona and Spain coach Enrique was appointed in 2023.

His team reached the semifinals in his first season, then kicked on following the departure of Kylian Mbappe in 2024.

No longer beholden to one or two superstar names, PSG went on to blow the rest of Europe away en route to winning a first Champions League title in 2025 as the French league giant destroyed Inter Milan 5-0 in the final.

It followed that up by edging Premier League champion Arsenal on penalties in last season's final in Budapest, becoming just the second side to retain the trophy since the inception of the modern Champions League in 1992.

But a third win at this level would be an achievement on another scale again.

Real Madrid did it under Zinedine Zidane, reigning over the continent from 2016 to 2018.

Johan Cruyff's Ajax and Franz Beckenbauer's Bayern Munich both won three successive European Cups in the 1970s, while Alfredo Di Stefano's Madrid won five on the bounce at the dawn of the competition between 1956 and 1960.

That is the kind of exalted company PSG is hoping to join, but the demands of Europe's elite club competition are now greater than ever — the new Champions League format led to the Parisians playing a total of 17 games in order to win the trophy in each of the last two campaigns.

When at its best, it is utterly thrilling. Its pace in an attack led by Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is utterly terrifying, and is supported by flying fullbacks Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes.

Meanwhile, their midfield three, led by diminutive Portuguese playmaker Vitinha, can dominate games against far more physical opponents.

Enrique: still hungry

Hence, PSG winning its two titles, and two UEFA Super Cups, despite playing 18 matches against Premier League teams in the last two years.

The number of games might be the biggest danger for PSG, who played 121 competitive matches across the last two seasons with a meager three-week break in between because of the Club World Cup.

On either side of that, the majority of the squad were involved in major tournaments in 2024 and have had another shortened summer holiday due to the World Cup.

That may explain why it has looked rusty at the beginning of this campaign. However, its margin over the rest of France's top flight is so great that it is still favorite to win Ligue 1 again, even if it chooses to regularly rest key players to keep it fresh for the Champions League.

Its European campaign could not start with a kinder fixture either, with Slovan Bratislava up first — things will quickly move up a notch, though, as it visits Manchester City and hosts Barcelona in October.

PSG does not often sell one of its star players but that is what it has done with Bradley Barcola, who joined Liverpool for huge money. Goncalo Ramos, Lee Kang-in and Ibrahim Mbaye, all useful squad options last season, have all been sold as well.

However, Maghnes Akliouche, who played for France at the World Cup, and Ferran Torres — Spain's final match-winner in North America — are headlining new arrivals. The latter played under Enrique for his country.

"He was like a footballing father for me when I played for him in the national team," Torres said after signing from Barcelona.

Enrique is the star now, more than any individual player, and he has just signed a new contract to stay in Paris until 2030.

"It is the first time I have stayed four years at the same club, and I am more motivated than I was in my first year," he said, insisting that he has lost none of his hunger. That is ominous for PSG's rivals.