A female TV presenter has accused Luis Enrique of "public mockery" following an awkward post-match interview after Saturday night’s Champions League final. Enrique had just led Paris Saint-Germain to their first-ever major European title, with Les Parisiens producing a barnstorming display at Munich’s Allianz Arena to thrash Inter Milan 5-0.
It was a historic night - the largest winning margin in the competition’s showpiece final - and, on a personal level, it saw Enrique join Pep Guardiola as only the second manager to win a treble with two different clubs, having previously done so with Barcelona in 2015. He can now comfortably claim to be one of the best managers in football as a result.
But during his post-match interview, the Spaniard reignited a long-standing feud with journalist Susana Guasch of Movistar Plus - a grudge dating back nearly a decade to his time in Catalonia. His on-air remarks have not gone down well to say the least, with Guasch having since broken silence on the matter to keep the storm in the teacup brewing just that little extra longer.
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Luis Enrique Accused Of Public Mockery To Female Presenter
Susana Guasch has refused to see the funny side to his remarks
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Enrique has long held resentment towards the journalist, known for her Espanyol and Real Madrid ties. He regularly clashed with her during his time as Barcelona manager and clearly hasn’t forgotten, even if she thought he had. After Barca were knocked out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid in 2016, she criticised him heavily, prompting Enrique to fire back: "Your analysis is quite superficial and gratuitous. It has nothing to do with that of a professional..."
The remark was aimed squarely at Guasch. When she followed up, Enrique shut it down with: "I'll say it again, you talk about whatever you want, and I'll answer whatever I feel like." On Saturday night, he took the opportunity to rekindle the feud, opening his interview with Movistar Plus by saying (see below):
"I'm here for Monica Marchante, you all know it, not much for you, Alvaro. Even less for you, Susana."
"Hey, time flies. How long has it been?" was all the journalist could respond with, and she has spent recent days trying to downplay the animosity to just one incident, labelling his comments as "public mockery." However, as Madrid-Barcelona.com wrote: "Luis Enrique can't stand her because of her professional approach over many years, not because of an isolated event.
"The Asturian coach had to deal with Guasch and her pro-Madrid narrative while pretending to be neutral, which she wasn't. A culer like him can't forgive that.
"Maybe he was disappointed that in Munich Susana Guasch didn't pull out her Real Madrid scarf."
Enrique also had to deal with Anti-Barcelona criticism during his time as Spain boss between 2018 and 2019. In an interview on Radioestadio Noche, as per Daily Mail, she said: "I hadn't seen him in nine years. I see he hasn't forgotten my work and that he didn't like it.
"Luis Enrique knew he was the talk of the social networks, he was a public ridicule; he knew what he was doing. What surprises me is that he continues to give me this prominence. I didn't find any funny side in what he did; he didn't look at me."