Enrique on criticism of his star: look at Dembélé and Barcola
The PSG coach accepts the criticism
Luis Enrique leapt to the defence of his Ukrainian defender Illia Zabarnyi, insisting that criticism comes with the territory at a club the size of Paris Saint-Germain.
The PSG coach was speaking at a press conference on Saturday, ahead of Sunday's league trip to Brest, when the questions turned to Zabarnyi. The centre-back is in his second season at the club after arriving in the summer of 2025 for more than 60 million euros.
Zabarnyi made only his second start of the campaign in Wednesday's Champions League clash with Slovan Bratislava, which PSG won 6-1.
"Criticism? This is a natural thing," Enrique said, as reported by RMC. "If you remember, it's normal. When you are at a club like Paris Saint-Germain, there will always be criticism."
He added: "Even if you win 6-1, you will find criticism of the players. It is very positive that there is this noise, because it means we are at a big club."
Enrique recalls previous examples
The Spaniard did not stop at defending Zabarnyi. He reeled off a string of PSG players who had copped criticism in the past before going on to thrive at the club.
"I remember the criticism that Barcola, Dembélé, Doué and, of course, Luis Enrique faced," he explained, nodding to himself as well.
He continued: "This is natural. I think it simply works this way. We have to appreciate the fact that we are one of the best clubs in the world. I am very happy with my squad."
Across all competitions, Zabarnyi racked up 37 appearances in his first season at PSG. Yet he never nailed down a permanent starting berth at the heart of the defence, with Marquinhos and Willian Pacho standing in his way.
A difficult start for Paris
The context matters. PSG have stumbled out of the blocks in Ligue 1, taking just two points from their opening three rounds.
They lost to Lens in the Champions Cup, a match Zabarnyi started, before the Ukrainian dropped to the bench for the league games that followed. Monaco beat them 2-1, while Lille and Rennes both held them to 2-2 draws.
Zabarnyi is still waiting for his first Ligue 1 minutes of the season, despite that starting role against Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League.
