If PSG has succeeded in getting back on Ligue 1 with a quiet victory against Nîmes (3-0, 1st day of Ligue 1), it is the welcome given to Neymar by the public of the Parc des Princes that has caught the attention. After the match, Thomas Tuchel and the players could not avoid the question.
“Neymar getting beat up by a B**** doesn’t just come up, remember? ». This banner, deployed in the Auteuil stands in the first half, eclipsed the Paris SG’s quietly successful comeback against Nîmes (3-0, 1st day of Ligue 1). Especially since hostile songs to the Brazilian also came down from the bays of the Parc des Princes. Disappointed to see their No. 10 wanting to leave the ship only two seasons after its arrival, part of the Parisian public expressed their dissatisfaction, in a virulent way. Obviously, at the end of the meeting, Thomas Tuchel, at a press conference, could not avoid questions about this episode.
“It’s a little difficult. I don’t know what to say. I saw on my colleagues’ smartphones because I didn’t hear (the songs) during the game. Can I understand that? Yes and no. That’s the way it is in our lives now. He’s still our player, my player. I always protect my players. It’s in my locker room. I can understand why not everyone liked what he said and did. But we have to find the words to express our emotions,” said the PSG technician, trying to spare all the sensitivities. The speech was more or less the same in the mixed zone, where Marco Verratti, Abdou Diallo and Juan Bernat stopped in front of the journalists.
“With Neymar, no problem”
The Italian came back to the issue at length. “I didn’t hear the songs. The fans pay their tickets, they do what they want. When Neymar was playing, everyone was talking about him, was delighted to see him at work. Football is a bit like that. I hope things will be settled quickly for the good of all. We have a good relationship with Ney. These are things between the club and him, that they have to settle between them. We missed him last season at important moments because he had no luck with the injuries. We’re all happy to play with him, to train with him. It’s a pleasure, even today,” explained the pocket midfielder. The Transalpine, if it speaks to the past or as if the Auriverde were to leave, would nevertheless see it remain.
“No one will tell you that we don’t want Neymar. Today, he’s here, we’re taking advantage of it, at training sessions. We’ll see about that. With Neymar, we have no problem. If he leaves, it will be a great memory to have played with him,” he said. A similar sounding bell for Bernat. “He’s a very great player, one of the best in the world, everyone would want him on his team. I don’t know what’s going to happen, the decision is his, there’s not much else I can say,” he continued. Diallo, a summer recruit, believes that reconciliation is even possible. “Sometimes, in couples, there are problems, you have to know how to solve them. He is there, he comes back little by little, when he is there, you can feel it. He’s still an artist! “, he concluded. Despite the French central defender’s optimism, the divorce seems to have been consummated between the public of the Park and Neymar…
Article complet PSG players react to the hostilities of the Parc des Princes against Neymar Sur L'Express.
