Tag: Christophe Galtier

PSG coach Galtier ‘shocked’ by racism allegations

Galtier said he was prepared to take legal action

PSG head coach Christophe Galtier has said he’s “shocked” by recent allegations of racism and has vowed to take legal action to clear his name.

Earlier this week, reports in France quoted a leaked email from Nice’s former director of football Julien Fournier, in which he told the club’s owners Galtier said there were too many black and Muslim players in the squad.

Galtier, who coached Nice from 2021 to 2022, had the chance to respond on Friday in his pre-match press conference.

“I have been extremely shocked by the allegations that some people have irresponsibly made and relayed,” Galtier said while reading a written statement. “These allegations hurt me in the deepest part of my being.

“I am a child who grew up in a council estate, in a melting pot with values of sharing and respect for others, regardless of their origins or religion. All my life and career has been guided by the the wellbeing and sharing with others.

“I cannot accept that my name and my family could be tarnished in this way. So I have decided to take legal action against anyone damaging my reputation. I trust our legal system and I also welcome the start of a legal proceeding this morning with serenity. I will not make any more comments on this matter.”

Before Galtier spoke, a PSG spokesperson read a statement of support for the coach, saying: “The club supports Christophe Galtier in the face of the many and unacceptable threats he has received, and now hopes that this matter will be dealt with by the courts.”

Nice prosecutor Xavier Bonhomme has announced that a preliminary investigation has been opened into possible “racial or religious discrimination.”

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PSG fans put charm offensive on Messi by booing him mercilessly

Perhaps not the best way to convince your star player to sign a new contract

Lionel Messi has a big decision to make at the end of this season.

The Argentine superstar’s contract at PSG is set to expire this summer, and he seems to have three pretty clear options for now: re-sign with the Paris side, complete an emotional return to Barcelona (who may not be able to actually afford him), or take his talents to South Beach and sign with Inter Miami.

Option number one looked like a safe bet a few months ago amid widespread reports that the World Cup Golden Ball winner had verbally agreed to a new deal.

But nothing has yet been signed and this weekend, PSG fans didn’t exactly do their utmost to show Messi he’d be welcomed back for another run at Parc des Princes.

Instead, at least some sections of the home support booed Messi throughout Sunday’s dismal 1-0 loss to Lyon.

Messi was not at his best in the game against Lyon, nor, more importantly, over a two-leg defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League last 16.

But for head coach Christophe Galtier, who admitted Messi wasn’t at his best against Lyon, those whistles were still harsh.

“Leo Messi tried very hard,” Galtier said. “It is not just about Messi and Kylian Mbappé. There were some technical mistakes in his [Messi’s] link-up play, but I think the whistles are hard to listen to because Leo Messi gives so much. He has got goals and assists in 2023, but it is also down to his teammates in terms of doing more to create more danger in the opposition penalty box.”

Asked if he had considered benching Messi, Galtier added: “When it is a difficult period and you need to turn a situation around and score goals, Leo Messi is a decisive player who is capable of coming up with a moment of magic that can be decisive for scoring goals. He has scored goals in 2023, he has got assists. I have never thought about taking him off or not playing him. He is an important player in our attacking lineup.”

Even after four scoreless games in a row, Messi has 18 goals and 17 assists in all competitions this season.

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Bayern condemn PSG to yet another Champions League disappointment

PSG once again came up short in the Champions League

Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League agonies will last for at least another year.

PSG’s wait for European glory carried on Wednesday as they crashed out of the Champions League in the round of 16 after a 3-0 aggregate loss to a disciplined, clinical Bayern Munich.

At the Allianz Arena, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s second half goal condemned a short-handed PSG to more Champions League disappointment, with the Ligue 1 juggernaut once again not able to translate domestic dominance at a continental level. Serge Gnabry tacked on a late goal to ensure celebrations in Bavaria.

Bayern’s game-winning goals in the two legs both came from ex-PSG players, with Choupo-Moting having left them for Bayern in 2020 and first-leg scorer Kingsley Coman a PSG academy product.

It’s been like this for a long, long time. PSG’s lone European trophy remains the 1995-96 Cup Winners’ Cup, which is a competition that stopped existing before the turn of the century. They have had some close calls, losing the 2019-20 final (again to Bayern), but today’s defeat comes at a familiar stage. This is the fifth time in the last seven seasons they’ve been eliminated at the first knockout hurdle.

That will likely result in some real pressure for manager Christophe Galtier, though injuries to Neymar (which likely influenced a formation change), Presnel Kimpembe, and Renato Sanches were further compounded by multiple enforced substitutions on Wednesday.

Despite those issues, PSG competed on equal terms for a long spell of the first half in a second leg they had to win. However, once the golden opportunity to equalize arrived, they weren’t ready.

Bayern goalkeeper Yann Sommer, having received a back-pass, was pressured by Kylian Mbappé and Achraf Hakimi, with the latter jarring the ball loose with a tackle. Sommer attempted a lunging tackle of his own on Vitinha, who calmly dodged that effort and sized up an empty net.

Surely the moment for PSG, right?

Wrong. Matthijs de Ligt sprinted onto the scene seemingly from nowhere, arriving just in time to slice Vitinha’s rolling shot off the line. Leo Messi had his head in his hands, Marco Verratti literally fell down upon seeing the shot not actually give them a lead, and PSG were stuck at 0-0.

In retrospect, it was a moment that changed the match. PSG’s Champions League misfortunes only grew: Marquinhos had been substituted due to a possible hip injury just two minutes before de Ligt’s denial, compounding PSG’s availability problems.

It only got worse, though, as his replacement Nordi Mukiele was then replaced at halftime by El Chadaille Bitshiabu.

Bayern sensed a foe that lacked the confidence befitting a side that can start Mbappé and Messi together, and pounced as the second half wore on. Choupo-Moting thought he had his goal in the 51st minute, but VAR ended up pulling it back after Thomas Müller was judged to be offside and involved in the play as he reached out for what turned out to be an unnecessary stab at a finish.

This should have been the wake-up call for PSG, but they never really got going again. Choupo-Moting would strike again shortly thereafter, and this time PSG wasn’t saved by VAR. Müller and Leon Goretzka pressured Verratti into a turnover, with Goretzka drawing the defense before sliding a pass over to the Cameroon striker for a simple finish.

For Choupo-Moting it marked his team-leading 17th of the season; for PSG, it was effectively game over. The Parisians only truly came close to making a game of it through Sergio Ramos’ 64th minute header, only for Sommer to come up with a top-drawer save. Such is life when you’re PSG in the Champions League.

Serge Gnabry would finish the game off late, firing home after João Cancelo’s 70-yard run left a scrambling PSG defense with little hope of intervention.

Bayern will join Chelsea, AC Milan, Benfica, and four more teams in the quarterfinal draw, while PSG’s herd of superstars will be left pondering what it will take to actually advance in this competition.

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Neymar joins ever-expanding list of PSG absentees for Bayern clash

Neymar is one of a possible five absentees for a must-win match

Paris Saint-Germain’s quest to finally win a Champions League just keeps getting more difficult.

Speaking ahead of his side’s home match against Nantes, PSG boss Christophe Gaultier has confirmed that Neymar will be out for both this weekend’s game as well as Wednesday’s second leg at Bayern Munich.

“Neymar will not be available in the next two games,” Galtier told reporters on Friday. “Without him, we may play with two [central] midfielders and three attackers, or three midfielders and two attackers.”

Back on February 19, Neymar appeared to roll his ankle in PSG’s wild 4-3 comeback win over Lille, leaving the game early in the second half on a stretcher. The following weekend, PSG adjusted to his absence in a 3-0 win at Marseille by bringing Marquinhos in at the back, shifting into a 3-5-2 formation.

Against Lille, Galtier sent Hugo Ekitiké in as Neymar’s replacement, but the 20-year-old is a very different sort of player. That wasn’t the only injury-enforced change for PSG on the day, as Nuno Mendes left the match after just 31 minutes. The Portuguese left back’s status for PSG’s upcoming games is uncertain.

PSG badly shorthanded vs. Bayern

While the win over Marseille was potentially decisive in Ligue 1 — PSG moved eight points ahead of l’OM, their closest competition for the league title at the moment — it came with yet another serious injury. Presnel Kimpembe suffered a torn Achilles tendon, adding to a growing list of injury doubts as PSG faces its biggest challenge of the season at the Allianz Arena.

In his press conference, Galtier noted that wingback Achraf Hakimi — who is being investigated for rape by French authorities — is questionable due to “muscle pain” that the coach says stems from an injury picked up during the World Cup.

Renato Sanches, meanwhile, seems sure to remain out after suffering a reoccurrence of a hamstring strain last month.

It’s not a great recipe for a PSG side that were outplayed in Paris by Bayern, falling 1-0 on a goal from Kingsley Coman. At full strength, they would have an enormously difficult task on their hands: no one has beaten Bayern at home since Eintracht Frankfurt notched a 2-1 victory back on October 3, 2021.

But without Neymar and so many other important players? It’s hard to see PSG managing to advance to the quarterfinals, leaving their pursuit of Champions League glory on hold for at least another year.

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Galtier and Mbappé on taking a two-hour train ride to a game: LOL

The PSG coach and star are in some hot water over their dismissal of climate concerns

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Christophe Galtier and star forward Kylian Mbappé are not making many friends in the movement to fight climate change.

PSG came in for criticism for taking a short flight to its game at Nantes on Saturday, a journey that used far more fossil fuel than taking a train.

Alain Krakovitch, the head of France’s state-owned railway company SNCF, hit out at the club on Twitter.

“Paris-Nantes is in less than two hours by TGV (SNCF’s high-speed passenger train),” Krakovitch said.

“I renew our proposal for a TGV offer adapted to your specific needs in line with our common interests — safety, speed, services and eco-mobility,” he added.

In a press conference on Monday, Galtier was quizzed on Krakovitch’s comments, which prompted Mbappé to burst out laughing.

Galtier said with a smile: “I knew this question was coming,” before proceeding to mock the entire idea of the proposition.

“This morning we talked about it with the company who organizes our trips and we’re looking into traveling on sand yachts.”

Galtier and Mbappe may have found the idea funny, but Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo didn’t.

“Are you serious, responding like this???,” Hidalgo tweeted. “Wake up guys???”

PSG is owned by Qatar Sports Investments, a subsidiary of Qatar’s state-owned sovereign wealth fund. The country also owns Qatar Airways, which is the club’s official airline partner and shirt sponsor.

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