Luis Enrique Backs Zabarnyi Amid PSG's Early Season Struggles
Luis Enrique did not hesitate. The first question about Illia Zabarnyi landed and the Paris Saint-Germain coach immediately moved to shield his young defender.
Criticism? It comes with the shirt, he insisted.
Speaking on Saturday ahead of PSG’s tricky Ligue 1 trip to Brest, Enrique was pressed on the situation of the Ukrainian centre-back, now in his second season in Paris after a move worth more than 60 million euros in the summer of 2025.
Zabarnyi has barely featured this term. He made just his second start of the campaign in midweek, in the Champions League, as PSG thrashed Slovan Bratislava 6-1. Even that emphatic win did not silence the noise around him.
“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.”
Then he went a step further.
“Even if you win 6-1, you will find criticism of the players. It is very positive that there is this noise, because it means we are at a big club.”
Names that know the noise
Enrique did not just talk in theory. He had examples ready.
He rattled through a list of PSG players who have already ridden the same storm that now swirls around Zabarnyi.
“I remember the criticism that Barcola, Dembélé, Doué and, of course, Luis Enrique faced,” he pointed out, gesturing towards himself to underline the point.
The message was clear: this is the PSG cycle. New signing, scrutiny, doubt, and – if you survive it – success.
“This is natural. I think it simply works this way,” he continued. “We have to appreciate the fact that we are one of the best clubs in the world. I am very happy with my squad.”
That last line matters. For Zabarnyi, it is a public vote of confidence at a time when his role looks anything but secure.
Crowded path to the back line
The numbers from last season show why PSG still believe in him. Across all competitions, Zabarnyi made 37 appearances in his first year at the club. He was involved, trusted often enough, but never fully entrenched.
The problem? The traffic ahead of him.
Marquinhos remains the reference point in the heart of the defence, while Willian Pacho has also cemented his place. Between them, they have kept Zabarnyi on the outside looking in when it comes to a permanent starting berth.
This season that squeeze has become even more brutal. Despite the Champions League start against Slovan Bratislava, Zabarnyi is still waiting for his first Ligue 1 minutes of the campaign.
A slow start, a louder spotlight
The wider context only intensifies the glare.
PSG have stumbled badly out of the blocks in Ligue 1, collecting just two points from their first three matches. For a club that measures itself in titles and semi-finals, not stutters and excuses, that is a jolt.
They lost to Lens in the Champions Cup, a game Zabarnyi started, before he dropped to the bench for the league fixtures that followed. The results did not improve without him: a 2-1 defeat to Monaco, then 2-2 draws against both Lille and Rennes.
Every slip adds another layer of scrutiny. On the coach. On the stars. On the fringe players trying to break through.
That is the environment Zabarnyi is trying to navigate: a 60-million-euro defender, short of minutes, in a team under pressure and a club that never stops talking.
Enrique has drawn his line in public. The question now is whether the Ukrainian can turn that backing into something more tangible – a regular place in a defence that still looks like it needs answers.
