Luis Enrique has further demonstrated his world-class credentials as a manager by leading PSG to the Champions League, becoming only the second coach after Pep Guardiola to win a historic treble with two different clubs.
You imagine that there will be a fair few Premier League chairmen kicking themselves and wondering ‘what if?’, having watched the Spanish coach do a superb job to turn PSG into the best team in Europe following the departure of their star player Kylian Mbappe.
We’ve identified four Premier League clubs who considered appointing Luis Enrique… but didn’t.
Tottenham
Cast your mind back to a couple of summers ago.
Luis Enrique’s camp had made it clear he was looking to return to the dugout, half a year after departing Spain following their Round of 16 elimination at the World Cup in Qatar.
He was reportedly very keen on working in the Premier League and a number of top clubs were searching for a figurehead to steer their projects in a new direction. Chief among them Spurs in the wake of a classic Antonio Conte meltdown.
The Athletic reported that Luis Enrique “was always attracted to the idea of coming to manage Spurs” but that Daniel Levy and the Tottenham hierarchy ultimately decided against in part due to his “reputation for rubbing people up the wrong way”.
Reading between the lines, it appears that Levy felt burned by two outspoken, demanding ‘proven winners’ failing to work out in Conte and Jose Mourinho. The decision to go with Ange Postecoglou represented a different approach.
Arsenal
It’s easy to forget now but there was a time in which Luis Enrique was considered the frontrunner to succeed Arsene Wenger at the Emirates. He’d been out of the game after leaving Barcelona but was ready to return to the dugout following a year-long sabbatical.
After Wenger’s announcement, the Daily Mail ran a report that suggested Luis Enrique was “ready to take the reins” at Arsenal: “‘only an unexpected glitch in negotiations, which are well advanced, can prevent now the appointment of the 47-year-old.”
The powers that be evidently favoured a Spanish flavour back in 2018. Mikel Arteta, then Pep Guardiola’s assistant, interviewed for the vacancy but ultimately lost out to Unai Emery. But what happened to the early frontrunner?
The Times stated that the Gunners’ executives shied away from appointing the former Barcelona manager in part due to his salary demands, which were believed to have been in excess of what Wenger was earning.
It’s said he was viewed as “an inappropriate fit to the position” with “a self-absorbed approach to management” which “would not mesh with the London club’s restructuring strategy”.
Ouch. Hasn’t worked out too badly for PSG, has it?
Chelsea
Tottenham weren’t the only club looking for a head coach in the summer of 2023.
After Todd Boehly’s disastrous first year at the helm, ending in the club finishing 12th on just 44 points, Chelsea were in dire need of a change in direction. They decided to go with the relatively safe option of Mauricio Pochettino, who boasted a proven track record in the Premier League.
Slowly but surely, Chelsea’s fortunes did start to turn around under Pochettino. But he didn’t get them back into the Champions League and always felt like an awkward fit with the board, ultimately only lasting one season at Stamford Bridge.
During Frank Lampard’s disastrous interim stint as the search went on, Fabrizio Romano reported that Luis Enrique was “out of the race” to be the club’s next permanent manager after a decision made by the club.
No reason for the decision has come out in the wash, but Blues legend Claude Makelele has questions.
“I think you need to ask the president of Chelsea, ‘Why did you not take him?'” Makelele told Football London, whilst representing Bet365.
“You know, some managers, they come from a different club and it is different. Now, he plays possession, but maybe in the Premier League, where it is all box-to-box, you cannot always have possession. Sometimes, you’d have to play in a different way.”
Manchester United
Unlike the three London clubs on this list, Manchester United never quite had a clear run at Luis Enrique’s signature when he was out of work and actively sounding out Premier League jobs.
Erik ten Hag was in his first season and doing a pretty good job when Luis Enrique became available in the first half of 2023. The stars never quite aligned.
But that’s not to say he never appeared on the Red Devils’ radar. Back in November 2021, following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking, Sky Sports’ Rob Dorsett reported that Luis Enrique was likely considered for the job and “Cristiano Ronaldo’s preferred candidate”.
He was still in the Spain post at that time, and building up to the Qatar World Cup made the timing difficult, but with the value of hindsight you wonder if United showing patience and determination to get him might’ve worked out best for them in the long term.
READ NEXT: 13 remarkable stats from PSG’s historic 5-0 Champions League final victory