Vitinha fully admits it: his career has turned around thanks to Luis Enrique. In an interview with Ici Paris Île-de-France, the PSG midfielder paid a powerful tribute to his coach, whom he considers the true catalyst for his breakthrough in Paris.
There are encounters that change a life. Luis Enrique was that encounter for Vitinha. “My meeting with Luis Enrique is the turning point in my life here in Paris. He brought me to another level, a level I didn’t think I could reach,” the Portuguese confides.
With the Spanish coach, everything changed: more responsibilities, more confidence, more freedom. “I think I have shown what I can do. He has really liked me. I gained confidence and importance in the team. I started playing, it took on another dimension, and I took on another dimension. I really feel comfortable, I feel at my best when I play under Luis Enrique,” he insists.
And the evidence is there: Vitinha is having the best season of his career and has even reached 3rd place in the 2025 Ballon d’Or, behind Ousmane Dembélé and Lamine Yamal. A status that still makes him dream: “It’s strange, it’s the ultimate dream. You always dream of being well placed for the Ballon d’Or. It’s the ultimate dream to win it. But if someone had told me when I was 12: ‘when you are 25, you will be 3rd in the Ballon d’Or’… Yes, that seems incredible to me.”
The best is yet to come!
Looking back, the emotion is immense: “When I realize what I have done… 3rd in the Ballon d’Or, it’s great, it’s a dream. It brings responsibilities. Now I have to maintain the level, stay on this path.”
Vitinha knows that the hardest part is just beginning: consistency at the very highest level. The competition is fierce, but he says he is ready: “There aren’t many players who continue to perform every year. So I have to do everything I can to stay there. And I am in the perfect place for that: a great club like PSG, the European champion. I have to try to do the same, if possible better.”
According to the Portuguese, the best may still be to come: for him, for his coach… and for PSG, the European champion.
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