The China Mail - Is Champions League three-peat really possible for PSG?

"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 Qatar-owned club, PSG became the real deal after former Barcelona and Spain coach Luis Enrique was appointed in 2023.

They reached the semi-finals 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 they destroyed Inter Milan 5-0 in the final.

They followed that up by edging Premier League champions 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 three-peat 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 are hoping to join, but the demands in 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 their best, they are utterly thrilling. Their pace in an attack led by Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is utterly terrifying, and is supported by flying full-backs Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes.

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

- Luis Enrique: still hungry -

Hence PSG winning their 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 meagre three-week break in between because of the Club World Cup.

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

That may explain why they have looked rusty at the beginning of this campaign. However, their margin over the rest of France's top flight is so great that they are still favourites to win Ligue 1 again, even if they choose to regularly rest key players to keep them fresh for the Champions League.

Their European campaign could not start with a kinder fixture either, with Slovan Bratislava up first -- things will quickly move up a notch, though, as they visit Manchester City and host Barcelona in October.

PSG do not often sell one of their star players but that is what they have 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 been sold too.

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

Luis 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.

I.Ko--ThChM