They've had Neymar, Mbappé, Messi but PSG's biggest superstar is Luis Enrique, says Bastian Schweinsteiger

Fifa World Cup winner Bastian Schweinsteiger believes “the biggest superstar” in the UEFA Champions League at present is not a player, but in fact Paris St Germain manager Luis Enrique. 

The Spaniard has steered PSG to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals where they will face English Premier League outfit Arsenal in the first-leg at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday evening (kickoff 9pm).  

PSG are aiming to reach a second-ever Champions League final after losing to Schweinsteiger’s former club Bayern Munich at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal back in 2020. 

The Parisian outfit have long sought European glory, having previously only won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1996 and the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2001, despite boasting some of the world’s best players such as Argentine maestro Lionel Messi, Brazilian Neymar and local French hero Kylian Mbappé in recent years after being taken over by the oil-rich Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) in 2011.

Enrique has now taken them to the brink by spectacularly knocking out six-times Champions League winners Liverpool on penalties in the Round of 16 before seeing off fellow English team Aston Villa 5-4 on aggregate in the quarterfinals to set up the semifinal showdown with the Gunners.

“They've had Neymar, they've had Mbappé, they've had Messi. But it seems to be clicking now with a team without really a superstar,” Schweinsteiger told Independent Media at the Heineken UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour in Cape Town. 

“I think the biggest superstar is Luis Enrique. When we were facing Barcelona, when he was manager of Barcelona, he was doing amazing.  And now, how he handled the situation with all the players that left is fantastic.

“And how they were performing against Liverpool, I didn't expect it. And that's why I rate them very high.”

The second semifinal will see Enrique’s former charges Barcelona facing Italian giants Inter Milan with the first-leg on Wednesday at the Camp Nou before returning to Milan’s San Siro next week. 

Schweinsteiger feels the final, set to be staged at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena, on 31 May could be an emotional one for Enrique.

“I think that PSG and Barcelona are the favourites (for the final),” the German said. 

Schweinsteiger is, however, disappointed that it will not be his very own Bayern Munich contesting the showpiece final before their home fans after losing to Inter in the quarterfinals. 

“The big dream was to play the final in Munich, but they lacked a little bit in the quarter-final defeat against Milan,” he said.

“But luckily, they have the chance to win the Bundesliga. And they will win the Bundesliga.  That's going to be very special.

“I think and I hope for next season that in the Champions League they can go further.”