Luis Enrique Defends Zabarnyi Amid PSG's Early-Season Struggles
Luis Enrique did not flinch. Pressed on Illia Zabarnyi’s slow start to the season and the noise swirling around his Ukrainian defender, the Paris Saint-Germain coach pushed back hard.
“Criticism? This is a natural thing,” he said on Saturday, on the eve of PSG’s Ligue 1 trip to Brest, as reported by RMC. “When you are at a club like Paris Saint-Germain, there will always be criticism.”
Zabarnyi, signed in the summer of 2025 for more than 60 million euros, is into his second year in Paris. The price tag has followed him. So has the debate over whether he can truly impose himself at the heart of PSG’s defence.
On Wednesday, he finally started just his second game of the campaign, in the Champions League against Slovan Bratislava. PSG crushed the Slovak side 6-1. The scoreline was emphatic. The judgement on Zabarnyi from some corners was not.
“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.”
The message was clear: scrutiny is part of the job description.
Enrique points to PSG’s history of “targets”
Enrique did not only shield Zabarnyi. He widened the lens and reminded everyone that Paris has always picked its scapegoats, right up until they turn into key men.
“I remember the criticism that Barcola, Dembélé, Doué and, of course, Luis Enrique faced,” he said, tapping himself into the conversation.
For the Spaniard, the pattern is familiar. New arrivals, big expectations, a few shaky moments, then the storm. Some bend under it. Others grow.
“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.”
The numbers from Zabarnyi’s first year back that up, at least in terms of involvement. Across all competitions he made 37 appearances last season. Yet he never truly displaced the established pairing. Marquinhos and Willian Pacho kept him on the outside of the starting XI, looking in.
This year, that battle has only intensified.
Tough opening, tighter spotlight
The timing of the debate is no accident. PSG’s start to the campaign has been shaky, and shaky giants invite louder questions.
They stumbled in the Champions Cup, losing to Lens in a match Zabarnyi started. That defeat set the tone. When Ligue 1 kicked off, Enrique turned to other options.
The results did not calm anyone. Monaco beat them 2-1. Lille and Rennes both forced 2-2 draws. Three league games, two points, and a title favourite already chasing.
Zabarnyi, meanwhile, has yet to play a single Ligue 1 minute this season. His only real stage came in Europe, against Slovan Bratislava, where he finally reappeared in the starting line-up.
So the paradox is stark. A defender signed for more than 60 million euros, trusted on a Champions League night, but still waiting to step onto the pitch in domestic competition.
For Enrique, that does not signal doubt. It signals competition. For the outside world, it looks like a story waiting to break open.
The next chapter starts in Brest.
