Ousmane Dembele got a roaring welcome usually reserved for tennis champions when he presented Paris Saint-Germain’s freshly-won Champions League trophy to Roland Garros.
PSG finally reached their holy grail to lift the elusive title on Saturday, thrashing Inter Milan 5-0 in what was the biggest winning margin of any final in the competition’s history.
The Parisians returned from Munich on Sunday and were met with a hero’s welcome in the French capital, albeit after a night of chaos in the city as celebrations got out of hand.
The festivities for Dembele, who was voted the Champions League player of the season, continued on Monday when he carried the prestigious trophy onto Court Philippe Chatrier for more than 10,000 people to see.
He was wearing a white t-shirt with the word “triumph” written on it, with PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi watching on from the stands.
Organisers could not have timed the brief ceremony better, with the Champions League title taking to the court just minutes before world number 361, wildcard and French home favourite Lois Boisson stunned third-seeded American Jessica Pegula in three sets to reach the last eight in the upset of the tournament.
“This is Paris,” shouted Dembele as the normally more reserved afternoon tennis crowd erupted with cheers.
“Exceptional, it was a magic moment in Munich. We played an exceptional season and were rewarded with our first European Cup.
“The individual titles are fine but it is the collective titles that matter. We will try to win as many titles as possible.”
PSG are only the second French side to win the European Cup after Marseille beat AC Milan in 1993.
Reuters
