UEFA president Michel Platini believes Paris Saint-Germain are "programmed to win the Champions League" while Javier Pastore says Chelsea's conquerors are "ready for great things".
PSG defied the odds at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, playing for nearly 90 minutes with 10 men and twice coming back from a goal down to knock out Jose Mourinho's side on away goals to progress to the last eight.
Having been knocked out by Barcelona and Chelsea at the quarterfinal stage in the last two seasons, PSG's success against the Premier League leaders provided evidence of the French champions' progress, and impressed Platini.
"It's a great achievement. I'm not surprised they beat Chelsea: there is not much in it, they're cup games where anything can happen, but Paris are programmed to win the Champions League," the former France international, 59, told media at a Euro 2016 organisational meeting in Lyon.
"It was in any case a great show, a very good game with great players and an unpredictable scenario. A 10 against 11, it was a great achievement by Paris. They stepped up a level when they bought the best players."
Pastore, 25, was the first of those when he moved to the Parc des Princes in an estimated 42 million euro switch from Palermo in 2011, shortly after Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) had taken over at PSG.
QSI has since invested hundreds of millions of euros in building a squad capable of competing in Europe, bringing in established stars such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva and Edinson Cavani, as well as signing promising youngsters like Marco Verratti and Marquinhos.
Having been at the club longer than most of the first-team squad, the Argentina international is well-placed to gauge PSG's progress under QSI.
"I think this season we started a bit hit-and-miss, but we have gradually gained in confidence, and the team is playing very, very well. In my opinion, it's the best PSG side in which I have played," Pastore told L'Equipe before adding the team could fulfil QSI's ambition of seeing PSG crowned European champions.
"Yes, I hope so. There are still a lot of very good teams, but we have shown that we can match them. It's the first time Paris has knocked one of them out. We're ready for great things."