Paris Saint-Germain wins the Champions League for the first time

James Robson · The Associated Press

· Posted: May 31, 2025 5:44 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

Paris Saint-Germain, Champions League winner.

At agelong past the nine that was transformed by Qatari billions and bought and sold a succession of the world's top players successful an extravagant bid to get to the apical has its hands connected the large one.

European nine soccer's grandest prize has a caller location aft PSG thrashed Inter Milan 5-0 successful Saturday's last successful Munich.

The trophy that not adjacent Lionel Messi, Neymar oregon Kylian Mbappe could present to the French nine was yet claimed by Luis Enrique, the Spanish manager who has overseen PSG's displacement from the epoch of galactico signings to 1 of genuine team-building.

Fitting past that Desire Doue, the 19-year-old French guardant emblematic of the club's caller generation, was the main inspiration connected a balmy night. He and substitute Senny Mayulu became the 3rd and 4th teenagers to people successful a Champions League final, pursuing Patrick Kluivert successful 1995 and Carlos Alberto successful 2004.

Biggest triumph successful a Champions League final

Doue scored doubly and acceptable up different extremity successful small implicit an hr connected the tract earlier being substituted successful the 2nd half.

"I don't person words," Doue said. "But what I tin accidental is, `Thank you Paris,' we did it."

Achraf Hakimi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia added to Doue's treble arsenic PSG recorded the biggest triumph successful a last successful the Champions League's 70-year history.

"It's pride, it's everything, it's exceptional," striker Ousmane Dembele said. "It's a archetypal for PSG but particularly bully since we did it successful style. We went to Liverpool, to Aston Villa, and played large games. We merit it and truthful bash the fans."

Now PSG tin genuinely beryllium alongside the royalty of European soccer. Not by virtuousness of turnover oregon merchandising, but connected the merits of its achievements connected the field.

The Champions League is the eventual barometer of the continent's elite clubs and up until present PSG has been a flashy contender that ever came up short.

That each changed astatine Allianz Arena, the location of Bayern Munich, 1 of the titans of Europe, and a fitting signifier for PSG's crowning moment. Not slightest due to the fact that it was against Bayern that it mislaid its lone different Champions League last successful 2020, leaving Neymar successful tears successful an bare stadium successful Lisbon wherever fans were locked retired due to the fact that of the pandemic.

On this occasion, thousands of PSG supporters were determination to revel successful the moment, waving flags, lighting flares and drowning retired their rivals from Inter, galore of whose supporters near the stadium agelong earlier the last whistle.

They'd been partying successful the streets of Munich passim the day, but that was thing compared to the scenes of joyousness erstwhile Marquinhos held the trophy aloft successful beforehand of teammates, with fireworks and aureate confetti exploding down them.

Marquinhos was affectional astatine the last whistle.

"I person thing left, I person fixed everything," the skipper told broadcaster Canal Plus. "I emotion this team, helium fans are arrogant of us. Make the astir of it guys, I emotion you."

PSG genuinely delivered erstwhile it mattered aft truthful galore setbacks successful this competition. If determination were immoderate nerves from Luis Enrique's players it did not amusement arsenic they dominated Inter from the start.

It took conscionable 12 minutes for the French champion to spell up with a determination of velocity and precision erstwhile Vitinha's threaded walk into the container recovered the feet of Doue. The guardant could person shot, but alternatively slid successful Hakimi to pat into an unfastened net.

Former Inter subordinate Hakimi's celebrations were muted but PSG's fans erupted.

Eight minutes aboriginal and the pb was doubled — though this clip it relied much connected luck than precision arsenic Doue's changeable from the close of the container deflected disconnected Federico Dimarco and past Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer.

He got his 2nd successful the 63rd, sliding the shot into the bottommost country erstwhile done connected goal.

Kvaratskhelia added a 4th 10 minutes aboriginal and Mayulu past recovered the backmost of the nett successful the 86th, conscionable 2 minutes aft coming connected to adhd his sanction to the database of teenage scorers successful a final.

Luis Enrique, who won the Champions League with Barcelona successful 2015, has go the seventh manager to triumph the contention with 2 antithetic teams and follows successful the footsteps of greats similar Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho.

He is the 21st manager to triumph aggregate European Cups. In a treble of trophies with PSG this play — with the Champions League being added to Ligue 1 and the French Cup — helium matched his aforesaid accomplishment with Barcelona 10 years ago.

14 years successful the making

For PSG, this infinitesimal has been 14 years successful the making since it was bought by Qatar Sports Investments successful 2011 and, awash with newfound riches, started targeting marquee signings to velocity up its way to the top.

In came superstars Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Beckham and Edinson Cavani. The ante was further upped with the arrivals of Neymar for a satellite grounds $262 million, Mbappe and yet Messi, allowing PSG to tract perchance the richest array of forwards ever assembled, but inactive nary Champions League trophy to amusement for it.

It was the departure of that past stellar trio implicit the past 2 years that appears to person been the turning point, with a greater absorption connected the squad alternatively than a postulation of stars.

Not that PSG's translation hasn't travel astatine a cost.

It whitethorn marque for a bully communicative that PSG has eschewed the large spending attack of earlier to organically assemble a squad to bushed all-comers from crossed Europe. The other is true. While it whitethorn beryllium without the marquee players of the past, this is inactive 1 of the astir costly squads successful satellite soccer.

The triumph volition besides rise much questions astir federation authorities engagement successful shot and alleged sportswashing, fixed Qatar's lavish backing of PSG successful enabling it to conquer Europe. It's triumph comes conscionable 2 years aft Abu Dhabi-backed Manchester City won the trophy, again against Inter.

Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealthiness money owns Newcastle, which volition instrumentality to the Champions League adjacent play with ambitions of its own.