Over the last 14 years, since Qatar Sports Investments’ takeover of Paris Saint-Germain FC, there has been a litany of superstars who have adorned the Parisian blue. From David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovi?, Edinson Cavani, Javier Pastore, Neymar Júnior, Lionel Messi, to Kylian Mbappé, each of these players wowed, excited, and enthralled in different measures. Crowds were captivated, tickets were sold, and domestic dominance went almost unchallenged.
Yet each and every one of these superstars failed to conquer the one summit that has been pursued relentlessly by the club and their president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi — the UEFA Champions League trophy.
Yet on Sunday, when that seemingly unscalable summit was finally reached, it was not Neymar, or Messi, or local boy Mbappé who held the trophy. It was the young, exciting, and nonchalant starlet Désiré Doué who grasped the shoulders of the trophy the way you meet a long-lost companion whose presence you love and cherish.
Doué has done it. And he will be known as the primary reason France has its first European Champions after a long, painful wait of 32 years.
When PSG signed Doué from Rennes last summer, the main reason the world knew of him was solely because of the front-page gossip he generated as the potential move gathered steam. Not many appreciated him for the body of work he had created around himself.
This entire season felt like one where his explosion into the footballing mainstream was slowly and assuredly built. A flick here, an outrageous skill there, an insouciant dribble to set himself away—Doué has captured the attention of the world without even intending to.
From the world not knowing about him at all to us running out of words to describe his prodigious talent, Doué has surely come a long way.
As far as his performance in the final goes, the impact he had was there for everyone to see. From bewitching Federico Dimarco to the point of a mercy substitution of the latter, to running Francesco Acerbi ragged—he did it all. Add to that the small matter of helping himself to two goals and an assist, and one doesn’t need a rocket scientist to figure out why he was named Player of the Match.
There’s something about the Allianz Arena in Munich that brings to the fore burgeoning young talent in all its glory. Lamine Yamal made his grand introduction here with his breathtaking strike against France in the Euros semi-finals last year. This year, it was Doué who brought his unbridled talent in front of the world at full crescendo.
As Javier Pastore handed his former colleague Marquinhos the Champions League trophy, which the veteran Brazilian later handed to Doué, PSG’s journey came full circle. When they signed Pastore back in 2011, it had felt like he was all set to take the world by storm, having been the next big thing. As Doué hoisted the trophy, he punctuated his own arrival as the next big thing.
“Wonderful. Magical.” This is how Doué described his feelings after becoming a Champions League winner. It is also probably how Paris feels, because he has gone on and done what no other PSG megastar has done before.
And this is just the start.
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