Fabian Ruiz, the Paris Saint‑Germain midfielder, ended the season with two consecutive triumphs: the Champions League and the world title with Spain. Despite this success, the Spanish player did not stop and reiterated his ambition to bring PSG to the top of European football.
The 30-year-old, who started his career at Napoli, expressed in an interview with UEFA channels that in recent years the club has had to face very competitive groups. “We played against teams of the highest level and, again this year, we will meet other great teams that we know well,” he said, underlining that the Champions League is a tournament where difficulty is an integral part. "We believe in ourselves and we have demonstrated our strength in past seasons; we know it will be a difficult task."
Ruiz also recalled that PSG has never managed to qualify for the round of 16 without going through the playoffs in the last two seasons. “We couldn't finish in the top eight and that's one of our goals,” he said. “We want to finish in the top eight and push ourselves as high as possible.”
The club, which has just renewed the midfielder's contract, is preparing for a high-level match against Manchester City in the group stage of the Champions League, which will take place in two days. The match will be an opportunity to test PSG's strength against one of the most successful teams in Europe.
With strengthened self-confidence and the aim of surpassing the threshold of the top eight, PSG aims to consolidate its position among the European elite. The near future will be defined by the result against City and the performances in the groups, which will determine whether the Parisian club can finally reach the knockout stage without having to go through the playoffs.