After an illustrious playing career, current Paris Saint-Germain boss Luis Enrique is one of the most high-profile head coaches in world football having managed Barcelona, Celta, Roma and Spain.

Enrique started his senior playing career in midfield for his hometown club Sporting Gijon before catching the eye of Real Madrid.

At Real, he would rise to international level, but in 1996 he left the club on a free, joining big rivals Barcelona and letting slip that he felt unappreciated in the Spanish capital.

That began an association with Barcelona that would dominate the rest of his playing time and the beginning of his managerial career.

As a player he won La Liga three times, the Copa Del Rey three times and the Cup Winners' Cup once.

Enrique played in three FIFA World Cups for Spain and won Olympic gold at the 1992 games held in Barcelona.

He was given his start in coaching as the manager of Barcelona B and his first major appointment came in Serie A with Roma in 2011.

After a brief spell as manager of Celta Vigo, he then replaced Gerardo Martino as the manager of Barcelona and would become the club's most successful boss since Pep Guardiola, who departed in 2012.

He left the Basque superclub when his contract expired in 2017 and was named Spain national team coach in July 2018.

After Spain suffered a disappointing World Cup last-16 exit on penalties to Morocco, Enrique's contract, which had been due to expire at the end of 2022 was not renewed.

In July 2023, Enrique was named as the new manager of Paris St Germain on a two-year deal, following the sacking of Christophe Galtier, and won Ligue 1 and the the Coupe de France in his first season in charge.

 

Luis Enrique and Barcelona

A native of Gijon, Enrique became a hero in Basque country after he made a controversial switch of clubs in 1996, claiming he was unappreciated at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Enrique struck up a midfield partnership with Luis Figo that drove Barcelona as a soccer force in the late 1990s before the Portuguese star jumped ship to Real Madrid.

Under influential coach Louis van Gaal, Enrique developed even further and showed tremendous consistency and incredible stamina as the Dutchman introduced a possession-based game to the club.

Enrique credits Van Gaal as a massive influence, not only as a player and coach but also as a person.

The two La Liga titles Barcelona won under Van Gaal in the late 1990s would be Enrique's last taste of top-flight success as a player.

The latter years of his Barcelona career were a difficult period for the club, who finished sixth in the 2002/03 season before bouncing back to claim a runners-up spot in Enrique's final term. Sadly, his time as club skipper brought little reward as a succession of managers flitted in and out of the Camp Nou.

Between Enrique's retirement as a player and his appointment as Barcelona manager in 2014, the club won the Champions League three times and earned six La Liga titles.

Enrique inherited a club with an insatiable appetite for success which his immediate predecessors, Martino and Tito Vilanova, had fallen victim to after just one season apiece.

His good favour with the Barcelonistas from his as a player offered a little insulation from the pressure to succeed. However, delivering the club's fifth Champions League title in his first campaign ensured Enrique wasn't the third manager in a row to be sacked after one season.

Enrique managed Barcelona to back-to-back La Liga titles in the following seasons and completed a hat-trick of Copa del Rey wins, leaving him a perfect record in the cup competition.

Towards the end of the 2016/17 season, Enrique announced he would not be extending his three-year contract with the club, citing a need for rest as his reasoning.

Despite spending just three seasons at the club, Enrique holds a special place among Barcelona managers, with only Guardiola and Johan Cruyff bringing in more silverware to the club in the post-WWII era.

Enrique has not ruled out a return to Barcelona, who have struggled to replace the Spanish coach and replicate the championship-winning form of his teams.

His era as a coach was synonymous with the front three he deployed for much of his time at the club, with Lionel Messi striking up a lethal association with Luis Suarez, who joined the club at the outset of Enrique's time as manager, and Neymar, whose departure came at the end of Lucho's Camp Nou reign.

Enrique timed his exit from Barcelona well, as discontent with the style of play and big-match results grew in his final season, much of it centreing around a 4-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain. In that final season, the prevailing perception was that despite the presence of world-class talent in every position, the team's performance appeared to be dictated by how well its star man, Lionel Messi, got on.

Messi still counts Enrique alongside Guardiola as the best to have coached him. The club's struggles since Enrique's departure, on the other hand, have painted his time at the club in a different light. While some may insist the 'rot' set in under Enrique, his tenure is a prime example of the challenges of managing a superclub in the 21st century.

All told, Enrique delivered two La Liga, three Copa del Rey, one Supercopa de Espana, a UEFA Champions League, one UEFA Super Cup and a FIFA Club World Cup title in a glittering three-season stay at the Camp Nou.

 

Representing Spain as player and manager

After a year out of the game, Enrique was coaxed back into management by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, who appointed him as national team manager in July 2018.

As a player, Enrique had been a Spain stalwart, appearing in three World Cups and the 1996 European Championship. He had also been a member of the Spain Under-23 side that won the country their first gold medal in the men's soccer competition.

Enrique experienced the high of scoring his first international goal in his first World Cup and the low of catching an elbow from Italy's Mauro Tassotti in Spain's 2-1 quarter-final defeat in 1994. The blow left Enrique bleeding from the mouth, one of the most iconic images from a memorable tournament in the United States.

He played 62 internationals for Spain, scoring 12 times, but success in major tournaments eluded the country during his playing career.

When he was appointed as Spain boss in 2018, Enrique was tasked with restoring a team that had slid away from the top of the pile after their 2010 World Cup win.

His first task was the inaugural UEFA Nations League, in which Spain delivered a mixed bag of performances. His first spell as manager was tainted by a serious illness in the Enrique family.

Enrique confirmed the tragic death of his nine-year-old daughter in August 2019, a few months after stepping down as Spain manager.

In his second stint as manager, Enrique showed an early commitment to building for the future, excluding some established players like Isco and firebrand striker Diego Costa.

His faith in youngsters such as Pedri and Dani Olmo was rewarded to a run to the last four of Euro 2020 where Spain where cruelly knocked out on penalties at the hands of eventual champions Italy.

Spain also reached the 2021 Nations League final under his guidance but Enrique's future had been the subject of speculation for some time, with reports he was considering a return to club football after the World Cup.

Spain began the 2022 World Cup by steamrolling Costa Rica 7-1, but then drew with Germany 1-1 before losing to Japan 2-1 in the final group game to sneak into the round of 16 on goal difference.

But they suffered a disappointing World Cup last-16 exit on penalties to Morocco, and Enrique's contract, which had been due to expire at the end of 2022 was not renewed.

Enrique was replaced by current Under-21s boss Luis De La Fuente.

 

Moving to Paris

Enrique replaced Christophe Galtier as Paris Saint-Germain head coach in July 2023 and led them to a record-extending 12th Ligue 1 title in April 2024.

However, once again European glory eluded them in the 2023/24 season as they exited the Champions League at the semi-final stage after a 2-0 aggregate defeat

He did guide the club to their 15th Coupe de France in May 2024, thanks to a 2-1 win over Lyon following first-half goals from Ousmane Dembele and Fabian Ruiz.

 

Reported net worth

Thanks to his playing career and managerial appointments, Enrique has racked up an estimated net worth of $20million.

Enrique's second deal with Spain was believed to be worth nearly $2million per season, but the coach requested bosses cut his salary by 25% to account for the long inactivity at the start of his tenure.

The Asturian coach splits his time between residences in his hometown of Gijon and Barcelona.