PSG open their 2026/27 campaign in Salzburg against Aston Villa, the Europa League holders, looking to add the Super Cup to the Champions League crown they retained last season. Villa qualify as Europa League winners after beating Freiburg in May's final, setting up a repeat of last year's Salzburg showpiece, where PSG lifted the trophy for the first time on penalties against Tottenham.
Luis Enrique struck a cautious tone over his side's readiness given a disrupted pre-season.
"Every team wants to win a European trophy, and we'll see what kind of game the two sides can produce on Wednesday. In the pre-season matches, we've had a lot of players who weren't there. It's difficult to judge who is going to play," the Spaniard said.
Even so, he was in no mood to shrink from PSG's ambitions for the season ahead, which stretch to a domestic, European and now potentially a fourth trophy inside twelve months.
"We set very ambitious goals from the start and we're going to carry on like that. This is a different moment, and now everyone thinks we can win again.
"But that's the theory - we have to show it on the pitch. We're looking to win again, but it's not easy, history has shown that. We want to be like that type of team," Luis Enrique said, a pointed reference to Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid without naming them directly.
Getting there, he stressed, will not happen by the opening weeks of the season.
"Last year was unusual, and this year is too. In terms of preparation, it's complicated to manage how many minutes each player can play. We're trying to prepare in the best way possible. I don't know what level my players will be at tomorrow after their rest at home. We'll see on Wednesday, we'll try to play at our best level. We want to be in the best condition at the end of the season, not the start of it," the Asturian coach admitted.
Captain Marquinhos echoed that message, confirming a third consecutive European Cup remains the squad's stated target despite the difficulty of the task.
"Our objective. We know it's hard. We know the path and how difficult it is. Even without much training, it starts on Wednesday. When you have a chance to win a title, you have to take it. That's how I am, I always want more titles," the Brazilian defender said.
PSG will head into Wednesday's game at the Red Bull Arena without pressure attached to the result itself, according to their coach's own framing of the occasion, before turning their attention to a second final in the space of a week: a Trophée des Champions meeting with RC Lens on Sunday 16 August.
Between now and then, Luis Enrique's priority is squeezing his squad back into shape after a summer disrupted by World Cup call-ups and late returns, with the manager repeatedly stressing that peak form matters more in May than it does in August.