Luis Enrique is fired up to beat Real Madrid as the Barcelona-loving Paris Saint-Germain boss hopes to beat his old team to the Club World Cup final.
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Luis Enrique speaks about his Barca allegianceAdmits Barca link might motivate his teamAiming for second Club World Cup successFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Luis Enrique's Champions League winners come up against Madrid in the semi-final of the competition on Wednesday and despite having played for Los Blancos, the Spaniard admitted his love lies with Barcelona and those ties provide extra motivation for him ahead of the big game.
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The 55-year-old, who caused a stir when he left Madrid to join Barcelona as a player in 1996, started his coaching career working Barca's youth setup before taking up his first head coach role Roma in Serie A in 2011. He returned to Barca three years later and won the European and domestic treble in his first season and retained their La Liga crown the following campaign. As a member and fan of the Catalan club, the Gijon native will take extra enjoyment from a victory this week.
WHAT LUIS ENRIQUE SAID
He told reporters: “It's a pleasure to play against Real Madrid. It always has been, always is, and always will be because of what it means to play against a team that is the most successful in the world. You already know that I'm a Barca fan, I'm still a Barca member and a Sporting [de Gijon] fan, so it's always motivating to play against Madrid.”
AFPWHAT NEXT FOR PSG AND BARCA?
PSG will take on Real at the MetLife Stadium on Wednesday in the Club World Cup semi-final, while Barca will commence their pre-season on 13 July.
