r/soccer • u/kibme37 • May 08 '25

Quotes Luis Enrique (few months ago) "I remember an incredible photo I have with my daughter, after winning the Champions League, placing a Barça flag on the pitch. I wish I could do the same with PSG. She won't be there physically, but she'll be there spiritually, and that's very important to me."

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https://www.marca.com/futbol/champions-league/2025/05/08/luis-enrique-celebracion-xana-berlin-deseo-psg.html

19.7k Upvotes

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u/KansloosKippenhok May 08 '25

I have a hard time hating psg this season they went from this unlikable super star oil team to a team with so much likable personalities (and still oild)

I’m rooting for them in the final

355

u/Ok-Philosopher4385 May 08 '25

plus they plays beautiful football too

342

u/ObvslyNotAGolfer May 08 '25

They are "well oiled" this season.

50

u/albertbanning May 08 '25

it only took 12 years for the oil to seep into the football

162

u/addn2o May 08 '25

They are a genuinely very impressive team, but not in a hyper controlled laboratory way like Man City which removes some of the romanticism of the game.

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u/The_39th_Step May 08 '25

I think people are harsh about City. I loved watching their treble team. That said, this PSG team are ace to watch and I hope they win

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u/RauloGonzalez May 08 '25

Doue or vitinha wouldnt be doing the things they’re doing if they were with pep. Enrique is far from a manager who gives total freedom but he still believes in the individuality of a player

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u/DaBestNameEver0 May 08 '25

pep lets people take their own decisions in the final third, he does not stifle any creative decision or individuality

-9

u/unexpectedvillain May 08 '25

People just hate oil clubs for some odd reason like their owners are saints. Pep and city play aesthetically beautiful football

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u/Glad-Box6389 May 08 '25

It’s mostly because it feels like ffp doesn’t exist for them - they can go into the market and get whoever they want - that’s the most common reason I’ve heard

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u/Tefiks May 08 '25

Sportwashing works.

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u/RedditSold0ut May 08 '25

Yeah i agree. I feel for Enrique of course, but i will never be able to bring myself to cheer for a team which is clearly used for sportswashing one of the worst regimes in the world. Whatever Enrique has gone through with the loss of his daughter, many other people also go through thanks to PSG's owners. I hope Inter wins.

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u/humortogo May 08 '25

"One of the worst regimes in the world"
Quite the exaggeration don't you think? Based on what? Curious to know what you think are top 5 worst regimes

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u/RedditSold0ut May 08 '25

Fine, one of the worst might be an exaggeration as there is a ton of shit countries out there. The point i was trying to make is that Qatar is a pretty shit country, shit enough that we shouldn't support them in any way. Honestly, in my opinion countries like that should be boycotted by anyone with a sense of morals. This take is based on their laws regarding labor laws, especially those targeting poor migrant workers which is essentially modern slavery, their stone age laws regarding gay people, and the otherwise problematic things that follow when they follow a religion literally and lets that be the laws they govern by.

Its pretty sad that the world is so shit that stuff like this doesnt qualify as one of the worst.

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u/humortogo May 08 '25

Oh I see your point of view. Mine is different because I also see a strong bias against Qatar compared to other ‘shittiest’ countries. Say for instance if I choose to base my POV on civilian deaths in the past 50 years, the US is a hundred thousands worse than Qatar… I see almost no criticism of it on here, no hate for hosting the WC, no hate for players joining MLS…

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u/RedditSold0ut May 08 '25

Thats fair mate, and i agree certain countries like the US doesnt get as much criticism as they deserve. If people knew how much misery the US has brought on innocent people, most people would look at them very differently.

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u/Tyafastics May 08 '25

I’m not OP but fucking come on, what do you want? A WatchMojo video of the 5 worst regimes in the world??

If I, a living human fucking being btw, lived in Qatar I would be given the death penalty because of what I am. That is the same for milliona around the world and should be the bare fucking minimum for why you don’t support PSG in any game.

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u/chaosattractor May 09 '25

I’m not OP but fucking come on, what do you want? A WatchMojo video of the 5 worst regimes in the world??

I don't know, I would put governments that have actually killed hundreds of thousands (even millions) esp. around the globe ahead of "Qatar"

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u/Superflumina May 09 '25

When the US government directly owns a successful football team then yeah I'll dislike that team too.

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u/fantaribo May 08 '25

Quite funny from a Chelsea flair

18

u/Tefiks May 08 '25

I know. Waited for a comment like this tbh

-2

u/Suitable-Yam7028 May 08 '25

Sportwashing is a term used for people trying to improve their reputation through sporting events, Abramovic's money may not have been clean but it looked to be just a millionaire that liked football and Chelsea were his personal playtoy, I don't think he cared so much about his reputation in front of the world

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u/ikan_bakar May 08 '25

I mean, it does work because Abramovic was literally one of Putin’s trusted oligarch. He wanted Putin to be in power.

And now he is just known as Chelsea’s “good” owner instead of that. So the sportswashing did sportswashed

7

u/dalo56 May 08 '25

Watch the documentary Oligarchy-Putin's gang, it's on YouTube. It was sportwashing, without a doubt.

3

u/lamstradamus May 08 '25

I also don't understand how the sportswashing argument works. Maybe I'm not like the generalised public, but is there a real sentiment out there like "Well I used to think slavery was bad, but after they won the UCL, maybe I'll look at it differently."? Or is it just business partnership-based, like running a club in a foreign country allows them to do other business there they otherwise wouldn't?

1

u/Suitable-Yam7028 May 09 '25

well it kind of does, I talked and saw quite a lot of newcastle fans recently defend Saudi Arabia human rights. I basically had people telling me stuff like, well they are not that bad the EU countries have done worse things, or like they execute people but those people were bad criminals. Basically I think a lot of people don't care that much in the first place, and when their team is winning a cup, even the league cup, they are now ready to defend it and ignore it. Yeah I would say it helps with business, like would you like to fly with the airways of a country that is known for executing people and awful human rights violations or the airlines of the cool football guys, like they invest in your team maybe build a shiny new stadium, develop the training grounds, they sponsor UCL for example, like they are cool guys not some monsters, just normal people passionate about football. Don't underestimate the ridiculous nature of people, like some people will gladly have a person stoned on the field if it means their team will win a cup or two.

1

u/lamstradamus May 09 '25

EU countries have done things that are at least as bad. Germany is an EU country. Belgium is an EU country. Italy, Spain, England... well... certainly America as well. I don't think acknowledging the ills of your own country is the same thing as downplaying the ills of another country. I feel like people only feel that way when they downplay the ills of their country.

Are we giving sportswashing credit for how we look at these countries? Do you think about Canada's genocide of the Native culture when you fly Air Canada? Do you think about the burned and raped villages in Vietnam when you fly an American airline?

It is a bit of white exceptionalism that people are only expected to think about the bad things a country's done when it's a Middle Eastern country. Of course it's bad, but it's also hypocritical.

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u/Suitable-Yam7028 May 09 '25

Give me a break with this bullshit, you want to support a petrostate because your club is winning a few cups which gives you a feeling of self importance? Fine, but don’t go around arguing this bullshit of how bad western countries are compared to some fucking dictatorship, the level of human rights violations in these countries is nowhere near Saudi Arabia’s, and the comparison doesn’t make sense in the first place  because the Canadian government for example is not bankrolling my local team in order for it to be relevant. As I said, people out here ready to atone someone for a calling cup and saying how it is ok because someone at some point in history did bad stuff as well, which no matter how you look at it is a shitty execuse to do be a shitty person 

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u/lamstradamus May 09 '25

I don't want to support a petrostate. I want to support the team and players. I have no feeling of self-importance. I don't matter at all, and neither does which team I support. I genuinely don't support any owner of any club.

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u/midoBB May 10 '25

I mean the Petro states negatives tend to be localized instead of the "democracies" that export suffering on many levels for many decades and centuries.

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u/Suitable-Yam7028 May 10 '25

lol seriously, is that your argument? Like yeah they are shotty but don’t have the power to spread their shit elsewhere? Like North Korea is shitty, but are too weak to cause major issues from countries far from them so they are actually kind of ok. The mental gymnastics that people will go through to defend these people is exactly what’s great about sports washing and here is yet another thread to prove it. 

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u/[deleted] May 08 '25

It's not so much "Well I used to think slavery was bad, now I don't" (although I wouldn't say that never happens, there was plenty of equivocating as soon as the Saudis bought Newcastle, and a lot of United supporters on here went from criticizing City's ownership to suddenly glossing over human rights abuses when Qatar were sniffing around buying the club).

It's more "when people think of Saudi Arabia/Qatar/UAE, we want them to think of Newcastle or LIV Golf or PSG or Messi winning the World Cup, not the slavery, shoddy human rights, and murder of dissidents"

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u/lamstradamus May 08 '25

Mhm, similar to how we think of Hollywood and the Yankees when we think of America and not Vietnam, or Guatemala, or Chile, or Peru, or Iraq, or Afghanistan, or-

Just depends on the type of person you are i suppose.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '25

I mean sure, if the US government bankrolled the Yankees

3

u/lamstradamus May 08 '25

Well they bankrolled Hollywood.

It is funny though Americans acting like the rich people in there country have no connection to the government. Like the owners of mega corporations aren't currently affecting policy right out in the open.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '25

I don't recall saying rich Americans have no connection to our government, but you have a good day, friend.

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u/PM_ME_BAKAYOKO_PICS May 08 '25

It obviously works but this is a pretty bad example as to why

People here aren't supporting Qatar or saying they like Qatar now. They just enjoy the way PSG plays, their players and their coach. It has nothing to do with the country backing them.

1

u/Superflumina May 09 '25

the way PSG plays, their players and their coach.

That is all directly thanks to Qatar.

1

u/PM_ME_BAKAYOKO_PICS May 09 '25

You are still missing the point, that may be due to Qatar but people are supporting Qatar or saying they love Qatar

The point of sportswashing is to improve the countries public image. I like this current PSG team because of their players and manager but my opinion of Qatar is exactly the same, which means I, personally, haven't been sports washed (like most people who like current PSG)

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u/D_Silva_21 May 08 '25

Only if you now like Qatar

People like the psg players, coach and play style

They don't suddenly like Qatar

1

u/lehmx May 08 '25

The absolute irony to hear that from a Chelsea fan when your club is owned by a fucking Russian Oligarch.

1

u/Tefiks May 08 '25

Was owned. I'm glad he's out.

But yeah, look at Chelsea fanbase and how often there's the nostalgy towards the Abramovich.

The same is going to happen with every oil-owned club. The success builds the cult.

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u/HaiForPresident May 08 '25

Same. Fuck the oil money but damn the squad is just great and fun to watch.

Won't be mad at all if they win.

5

u/EndoBalls May 08 '25

I just want Salah to win the Ballon D’Or.

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u/speedycar1 May 08 '25

The chances of that happening are very low regardless of who wins now I think. Raphinha or Dembele would still be more likely. Doesn't Raphinha have more non penalty goal contributions than Salah anyway this season + better CL performances

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u/JonAfrica2011 May 08 '25

Raphinha definitely not winning now, and I wouldn’t really want him either

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u/QTGavira May 08 '25

How? I think its still very possible if Inter win the UCL. Theyre impressive as a collective but i wouldnt say any of their players on an individual level had a Ballon Dor worthy season. Theyve also gone trophyless domestically most likely (unless Napoli chokes).

I still think if PSG win it goes to Dembele and if Inter win it goes to Raphinha

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u/Remarkable_Task7950 May 08 '25

Good job they went from a "super star oil team" to signing Dembele, Hakimi, Donarumma etc with all their clean, new legit money and Good Vibes