David Beckham Not Surprised by PSG's Performance: Luis Enrique Totality

JAKARTA - David Beckham says Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi told him Luis Enrique was so committed to his job that he slept at the training ground for almost his first year at the club.

Seeing the totality of the coach, Beckham - who played for PSG in 2013 - was not surprised by the quality of his current former team.

PSG secured their place in the Champions League final for the second time in a row with a perfect away performance against Bayern Munich in the middle of last week.

After the frenzy of the first leg, where PSG narrowly won 5-4 from the Parc des Princes, this performance showed their maturity.

Scoring a goal in just three minutes through Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele, PSG then played defensively and made it almost impossible for Bayern Munich to return to their best form.

By the time Harry Kane scored four minutes into injury time, it was too late, the job was done, PSG won 6-5 on aggregate.

Now they have just over three weeks to prepare for defending their Champions League title, having beaten Inter 5-0 to claim the first title a year ago.

However, reaching this point is not solely due to the wealth they have. PSG has tried the Galacticos way - they once had a trio of attackers in Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, and Lionel Messi - but their best achievement at that time was reaching the last 16 of the Champions League.

Reaching the final for the second year in a row is thanks to the manager and the incredible commitment he has given to the Parisian giant since his appointment in 2023.

There was no clearer sign of this than Beckham - who spent the last half of last season as a player with PSG - revealing.

"That's how Luis Enrique has built the team over the last few years. He has built this very solid team."

"I spoke with President Nasser (Al-Khelaifi) at PSG. He said that during Luis Enrique's first year away, he almost slept every night at the new training facility."

"He's working on how he wants the team to look, how he wants the team to play, who he wants, where it's going, what the future looks like."

"President Nasser just said he's never seen anything like it. His work ethic and what he wants from his team."

"He wants them all to be on the same level, all wanting the same thing, guiding these young players. He also wants players who will keep running and not stop. That's what he got, that's what he's built," Beckham said speaking at the CBS event Beckham and Friends Live.

PSG finally won something that has eluded them since Al-Khelaifi took over as president in October 2011, beating Inter easily in last year's Champions League final.

They now have the chance to make history, with only Real Madrid having ever defended the Champions League title, something they did twice in 2016/17 and 2017/18.

It will likely not be as easy as last time against Arsenal, but with Luis Enrique and his tireless work ethic at the helm, anything is possible.