The reporter reported coldly With their reach for the Champions League final, Enrique's Paris are just one step away from winning the first Champions League trophy in their history and two steps away from the first treble in the history of French football. For the Qatari royal family, which has invested 2.28 billion euros in the ball market over the past 14 years, this is not the "Real Madrid-style giant" they originally wanted. Ibra, Cavani, Beckham, Di Maria, Alves, Neymar, Mbappe, Buffon, Icardi, Ramos, Messi and other superstars can not do what Enrique with Barcola, Douai, Neves, Pacho, Nuno Mendes, Berardo and other young people under the age of 23, actually did it......

Grand Paris is no longer all about "burning money", hoping to attract superstars to join the "money worshippers" who conquer Europe. Piles of superstars don't bring Champions League trophies, more of a fragile Champions League battlefield with teams that are divided and difficult to establish tactical discipline. The continuous investment of the Qatari royal family has made Grand Paris a super giant that can compete with Manchester City, Bayern and Barcelona in terms of income. But on the pitch, Grand Paris also needs a Champions League trophy to prove that they are a real giant. It's just that to people's surprise, Enrique actually used a young team without superstars to get infinitely close to this ultimate goal.

There is no superstar, but there is more gold

The total value of the whole team is 924 million euros, ranking only 6th in the world. Behind Manchester City (1.31 billion), Real Madrid (1.27 billion), Arsenal (1.13 billion), Barcelona (1.02 billion) and Liverpool (994 million), but Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool are all defeated by Paris at the foot of the Champions League. Enrique's side have a much tougher road to Champions League qualification than they did five years ago. At that time in Portugal, Grand Paris only eliminated Atalanta and RB Leipzig, two dark horses in the Champions League for the first time, and easily entered the final. But this time, Paris beat the top four teams in the Premier League last season, and their gold content in the Champions League final this time can be imagined.

There are no superstars worth 100 million euros in Paris this season, and the most valuable Kvaratskhelia is only 80 million, tied with nine other players for 23rd place in the world. Among the top 52 players in the world, there are only three in Paris: Kvaratskhelia, Dembele and Barcola. The three Premier League giants defeated by Paris in the Champions League all have six people, and the billionaires Manchester City and Arsenal have three each.

Last year, Mbappe left the team in the summer window, Muani left the team in the winter window, and also dealt with Simmons, as well as Skriniar, Bernat and Asensio, only in exchange for Kvaratskhelia, who ranked fourth in the team's history in terms of transfer fees. In the draw for the Champions League last summer, Paris were only 7th in favourites to win the tournament and 15th in the Champions League stage, with a play-off to reach the round of 16.

In the end, Enrique's side beat four of the top eight teams in the odds to win the title, including first-placed Liverpool and third-placed Arsenal in the league stage.

In the Qatari era, Grand Paris, which was synonymous with superstars, relied on a group of non-first-class stars and young people to replicate what Neymar, Mbappe and Di Maria could only achieve five years ago. Enrique has been in charge of Paris for two seasons, and after a season and a half of transition and running-in, the team culture of the Paris, which is overly dependent on superstars, has quickly transformed into a collectivist team culture with a clear tactical framework.

Ironically, in Enrique's team-oriented team, Grand Paris could produce a new Ballon d'Or winner. Dembele shines within a system based on teamwork and tactical discipline. This is an exhilarating and very embarrassing paradox for the Qatari royal family, which has attracted mature superstars for 13 seasons.

A turning point in the Qatari era?

With Mbappe's departure, the Qatari era since 2011, marked by the acquisition of superstars, seems to be coming to an end peacefully. Over the past 14 years, the Qatari royal family has invested as much as 2.28 billion euros in the football market, but it has been proved that a group of stars attracted by huge sums of money alone cannot guarantee the team's success in the Champions League. Enrique's "de-superstarization" has been a success, reflecting his new vision of a younger, more team-oriented, more disciplined and more sustainable team. It remains to be seen whether this shift from the "superstardom" of the previous Qatari era is a long-term strategy, but at least Enrique showed Paris that the path is not as difficult as it seems.

After eight coaches during the Qatari era in Paris, Enrique is not the highest winning percentage, but his achievements far exceed Emery, who has the highest winning percentage. Also a Spanish coach, Unai Emery brought the "Camp Nou miracle" that made Paris embarrassed. The negative impact of that reversal was largely eliminated until Enrique led the starless side to the Champions League final this year. After entering the Champions League final, Enrique also took the initiative to laugh at himself with "Ligue 1 is a peasant league", emphasizing that "de-superstarization" of Grand Paris is more successful. Because Grand Paris is a tactically successful team, not a group of superstars.

This season's Champions League knockout round is subversive enough, because even the strongest MMN combination in the past cannot fully dominate the opponent in terms of possession and shots on goal in the away game of Premier League champion Liverpool. This is the first time in more than 10 years that a team has been able to achieve such a broad technical and tactical advantage over a Premier League team. Enrique is reminiscent of the 2008/09 Pep Guardiola-style Barcelona that was full of energy and technical dominance. The Qatari royal family pursued a "Real Madrid"-style superstar strategy for 14 years, but in the end they achieved unexpected success in Barcelona-style system football.

Regardless of whether Paris can become the new Champions League champions in Munich on May 31, Enrique's Paris will be successful enough this year. The "de-superstard" Grand Paris has been transformed, more spectacle, more convincing, and more like a real team.