Luis Enrique Defends Zabarnyi Amid PSG's Early-Season Struggles
Luis Enrique did not hesitate. The moment Illia Zabarnyi’s name came up, the Paris Saint-Germain coach went on the front foot.
On the eve of PSG’s league trip to Brest, the Spaniard used his press conference to shield his Ukrainian centre-back from growing scrutiny, reminding everyone that at this club, criticism is not a crisis. It is the norm.
“Criticism? This is a natural thing,” Enrique said, as reported by RMC. “When you are at a club like Paris Saint-Germain, there will always be criticism.”
Zabarnyi, now in his second season in Paris after a move worth more than 60 million euros in the summer of 2025, is again under the microscope. He has struggled to secure a regular place in the starting XI, and the team’s poor domestic start has only sharpened the focus.
On Wednesday, he was handed just his second start of the campaign in the Champions League against Slovan Bratislava. PSG crushed the Slovak side 6-1, yet the noise around individual performances did not die down.
“Even if you win 6-1, you will find criticism of the players,” Enrique continued. “It is very positive that there is this noise, because it means we are at a big club.”
A familiar pattern in Paris
Enrique did not limit his defence to Zabarnyi alone. He zoomed out and drew on recent history inside the PSG dressing room, listing players who had been targeted before eventually finding their feet.
“I remember the criticism that Barcola, Dembélé, Doué and, of course, Luis Enrique faced,” he said, tapping himself into the conversation.
The message was clear: this is how life works at a club that expects to win every competition it enters. Players arrive, they are judged instantly, and only those who ride out the storm stay long enough to be appreciated.
“This is natural. I think it simply works this way,” he added. “We have to appreciate the fact that we are one of the best clubs in the world. I am very happy with my squad.”
Zabarnyi’s numbers underline the tension between trust and status. Across all competitions last season, he made 37 appearances, a solid tally for a first year in a demanding environment. Yet he never truly dislodged the established pairing at the heart of defence, with Marquinhos and Willian Pacho blocking his path to a permanent starting role.
Stuttering start, rising pressure
The context around Enrique’s words matters. PSG have stumbled out of the blocks in Ligue 1, collecting just two points from their opening three games. For a club of their size, that is enough to trigger alarms.
They were beaten by Lens in the Champions Cup, a match Zabarnyi started. After that defeat, he slipped back to the bench for the league fixtures that followed. The results did not improve. Monaco beat PSG 2-1, while Lille and Rennes both held them to 2-2 draws.
So far, Zabarnyi has not played a single minute in Ligue 1 this season. His only major outing came in Europe, where he was trusted from the start against Slovan Bratislava and watched PSG hit six.
That contrast says plenty about his current status: good enough to be thrown into a Champions League tie, yet still waiting for domestic minutes while the team toils at home.
For Enrique, though, the narrative around Zabarnyi is not about a failing signing or a shaky defender. It is about a young centre-back navigating the harshest of spotlights, at a club that feeds off pressure and outrage in equal measure.
The next step is simple and brutal. PSG need results. If the early-season wobble continues, Enrique may have to decide whether Zabarnyi remains a rotation piece or becomes part of the solution in Ligue 1.
