After Champions League Champions, PSG Aims For The 2025 Club World Cup

JAKARTA - Has just been named the new king of European football, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) has now shifted their focus to the 2025 Club World Cup. This French giant club backed by large Qatar funds does not consider the new FIFA tournament a nuisance at the end of the season, but as the next serious target.

"I think this is an amazing competition. Our target is to be competitive and try to win the fifth trophy this season," PSG coach Luis Enrique said shortly after his team won the UEFA Champions League in Munich two weeks ago.

A landslide 5-0 win over Inter Milan in the Champions League final is a historic moment for PSG. After years of suffering a painful failure and spending billions of euros to buy star players like Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, PSG finally lifted Europe's most prestigious trophy through the captain, Marquinhos.

"We have made history for clubs, cities and the rest of the country," defender Lucas Hernandez told L' samequipe.

The euphoria of the victory they celebrated with tens of thousands of fans at Champs-Obviouslys and the Parc des Princes stadium, as well as in an official banquet with the French President, Emmanuel Macron.

However, PSG's long season is not over yet. Since last August, they have played 58 games, sweeping all domestic titles in France, a nearly routine achievement in recent years. Now, they are preparing to close the season with the target of winning the Club World Cup trophy.

Many PSG players have not even had time to rest, including Champions League final hero Deziré Doué, who had just returned from international duty before flying to Los Angeles.

"This tournament is very interesting," Luis Enrique told FIFA.com. "We must be able to balance between physical and mental fatigue after this long season, as well as the great motivation that comes because we can appear in this tournament," the coach from Spain added

PSG will open their run against fellow European giants, Atletico Madrid reinforced by Antoine Griezmann, at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, this Sunday. After that, they will face Copa Libertadores champions, Botafogo from Brazil, as well as US club Seattle Sounders in the next Group B matches.

Championed to qualify for the knockout stages without too many hurdles, PSG could potentially play up to seven games if they make it to the final to be held in New York on July 13, 2025 or just a month before they appear in the European Super Cup against Tottenham Hotspur.

The long season had an impact. Ousmane Dembeversus, PSG's top scorer this season with 33 goals, picked up an injury while defending the French national team last week. This is a concern for a team that does not add new players in a short transfer window ahead of the tournament.

PSG was linked to Bournemouth's Ukrainian defender, Illia Zabarnyi, but the transfer did not materialize.

Despite being hit by fatigue and injury from players, PSG still has strong reasons to stay focused: prizes worth up to US$125 million are ready to wait for the European team to win this tournament. A very tempting figure, even for big clubs like PSG.

With the four trophies won this season and the Champions League as the main crown, PSG remains hungry for achievement. Luis Enrique and his squad brought high spirits to the United States, not just as a complement to the tournament, but as serious challengers for world titles between clubs.

And if they are able to overcome Atletico, Botafogo, and other teams, it is not impossible that PSG will close the 2024/25 season with the best club status in the world.