“I consider myself fortunate, very fortunate” - PSG boss Luis Enrique shares thoughts on death of 9-year-old daughter Xana
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) manager Luis Enrique recently shared a message on the heartbreaking loss of his daughter Xana. She died in 2019 at the age of 9 due to bone cancer.
Luis Enrique and his wife Elena Cullell gave birth to a daughter in 2010, naming her Xana. However, she suffered from a rare bone cancer, which led to her death in 2019. In his documentary with Movistar, the PSG manager spoke about Xana and said (via Sport Bible):
"Can I consider myself fortunate or unfortunate? I consider myself fortunate, very fortunate. My daughter Xana came to live with us for nine wonderful years. We have a thousand memories of her, videos, incredible things.
"My mother couldn’t keep photos of Xana. Until I came home and asked, 'Why are there no photos of Xana, Mom?' 'I can’t, I can’t…', she used to say. 'Mom, you have to put up photos of Xana, Xana is alive,' I replied."
"Physically, she may not be here, but spiritually she is. Because every day we talk about her, we laugh, and we remember because I think Xana still sees us."
Luis Enrique and Elena Cullell have two kids together - Pacho Martinez (25) and Sira Martinez (24).
Luis Enrique's bullish claims revealed during PSG's UCL clash against Barcelona
PSG faced Barcelona in the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, setting up Luis Enrique to face his former side. In his documentary, it was revealed that the Spaniard was highly confident of beating the Blaugrana, who were managed by Xavi Hernandez. Enrique said before the first leg (via ESPN):
"Barça aren't guaranteed to [dominate games], they haven't in two seasons with Xavi. They aren't a dominant team and they are not a good team defensively, either. They defend with bodies but they don't have quality in defence."
PSG lost the first leg 3-2 at Parc des Princes. However, Luis Enrique didn't budge down from his confidence and said after the first leg:
"It's a lie to say Barça were better, that's completely false. They played long balls. [Goalkeeper Marc-André] ter Stegen broke the record for long passes -- I think it was 24. They play like Eibar. It was all long balls. Call it the third man if you're a fan of Xavi."
PSG managed to turn it around in the second leg as the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys. They won 4-1 as Barcelona were reduced to 10 men after Ronald Araujo's sending off.