Luis Enrique is known by the modern football fan for two of his iconic managerial stints. One is his current run with Paris Saint-Germain, which saw the club lose their superstar forward Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid and then shock the world by winning the UEFA Champions League that season. The other was his historic 3-year run as Barcelona manager, during which he clinched a legendary treble in an unforgettable team that has the icon "MSN" attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar. What most football fans don't know is that Luis Enrique was a former football player, and he has played for some clubs that are sure to shock you. Scroll down below to check out the playing career of Luis Enrique.
Luis Enrique - The Barcelona legend who was a Real Madrid Player
Born in Gijón, Asturias, Luis Enrique began his football career with local club Sporting de Gijón. It was during his time at Gijón that Enrique was given the nickname Lucho, which was based on Luis Flores, who was a Mexican forward in the team. After 7 years in their youth academy, Enrique was promoted to the Sporting Gijón B side 1988, where he spent 2 years. This was followed by another 2 years in the professional side till 1991.
What makes the playing career of Luis Enrique stand out is that he played for the two biggest Spanish clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona. He joined Madrid in 1991, where he spent the next 5 years. In January 1996, after scoring in what was a 5-0 thrashing of Barcelona by Madrid, Enrique stated that he "rarely felt appreciated by the Real Madrid supporters and didn't have good memories there". What was followed was a shocking move to Barcelona on a free transfer.
Barcelona fans weren't sure about Luis Enrique in the beginning. However, he eventually won their hearts, even becoming their club captain and scoring several times in El Clásico against Real Madrid. He went on to stay at Barcelona for 8 years, and one of his most iconic moments includes his passionate celebration at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, where he grabbed his Barcelona jersey after a 25-yard strike that beat the opposing goalkeeper. Enrique scored 46 goals in his first 3 seasons at Barca, during which he won back-to-back domestic championship accolades with them. He was even named as Player of the Year once by Spanish paper El País for his performance in the 1997–98 La Liga season.
Luis Enrique was frequently injured during his final years at the club and in fact did not want to renew his contract. This led to him deciding to retire on 10th August 2004 at the age of 34, bidding farewell to the beautiful game with over 400 appearances and more than 100 goals.
Luis Enrique FAQs
1. What are Luis Enrique dates joined?
The following is the timeline of clubs joined and played by Luis Enrique throughout his career:
1988–1990 Sporting Gijón B
1989–1991 Sporting Gijón
1991–1996 Real Madrid
1996–2004 Barcelona
2. Which are the teams coached by Luis Enrique?
The following are the teams coached by Luis Enrique :
2008–2011 Barcelona B
2011–2012 Roma
2013–2014 Celta
2014–2017 Barcelona
2018–2019 Spain
2019–2022 Spain
2023– Paris Saint-Germain
3. Has Luis Enrique ever lost a final?
Luis Enrique had a perfect 12 wins out of 12 record in finals, until his PSG side lost to Chelsea in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
4. Why did Luis Enrique leave Real Madrid?
Luis Enrique departed Real Madrid in 1996 as he felt undervalued by the club management and fans.
5. What was Luis Enrique's style of play?
At PSG, Luis Enrique currently instructs them to follow a positionless play style, which involves rotation, where wingers drift in, midfielders overload, and defenders step into midfield.
