As the UEFA Champions League final kicks off in Budapest this Saturday, reigning champion Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) has entered the final matchday with reinforced hunger to add a second consecutive continental trophy to its cabinet, according to key squad leaders.
The French Ligue 1 side lifted the Champions League trophy for the first time in club history last season, beating Inter Milan by a dominant 5-0 margin in the final. That first taste of elite European glory has left the entire squad craving a repeat experience, captain Marquinhos told reporters ahead of the matchup against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, who are still chasing their first ever Champions League title.
“Once you win the Champions League, once you taste that title, once you taste that moment, you want so badly to relive moments like that again,” the Brazilian center-back shared from Budapest’s Puskas Arena. “I still remember today the feeling and emotion in the dressing room after that final. And for us, as competitors, we always want to feel that emotion. And again, we have to be hungry, we have to have motivation.”
The passionate support traveling from Paris to Budapest for the final has only strengthened the squad’s resolve, Marquinhos added, noting that even his own father is making the multi-hour cross-continental road trip alongside friends to cheer the team on. “You have people who came from far away to push us on. So the motivation, the hunger, and the ambition to win this title have not changed since last year. And maybe it’s even stronger because we’ve tasted it.”
PSG forward Ousmane Dembele echoed his captain’s sentiment, emphasizing that consistent title wins are the mark of truly elite players. The 2023 Ballon d’Or winner, who picked up the award after spearheading PSG’s title run last season, confirmed his full fitness heading into the final despite a minor calf injury earlier this month. He pulled out of training immediately after noticing the niggle, leaving 10 to 15 days of recovery time to get back to full match sharpness, and says he never feared missing out on the decider.
Dembele, who previously played for Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona before moving to Paris, noted that winning the Ballon d’Or did not shift his focus or playing style, but it did deepen his sense of responsibility to the club. “Right now I’m trying to perform well on the pitch, whether it’s in the big matches or the smaller ones. I still have that desire, that hunger to win trophies with this club, with all the staff and this squad, and that’s the only thing in my head. Individual awards, I know people talk about them a lot, but those come afterwards,” he said.
The French international added that the entire young, talented PSG squad enters every competition with the same hunger for victory, regardless of whether it is the Champions League, domestic league, or national cup. “If we want to be great players, we have to win this kind of trophy several times. We’re hungry, and we hope everything goes well tomorrow,” he said.
Marquinhos acknowledged that Arsenal will pose a formidable test for the defending champions. The Gunners have kept a clean sheet far more often than any other side in this year’s competition, entering the final unbeaten throughout their Champions League run, and they have developed a reputation for converting dead ball situations into scoring chances.
“We know their strength, we know how hard and difficult it is to come up against this Arsenal side,” Marquinhos said. “In a match, especially in a final, it’s going to be decided on the details: knowing how to defend, how to attack, how to counter, how to defend a set piece, also how to attack a set piece. All the little details in a football match and in a final are going to be important. We’ve prepared ourselves for all those details.”