Latest news with #NeymarJr
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
PSG's transformation: team is king
Kolkata: Nearly 70, the European club championship now known as the Champions League has seen only 24 winners. Paris St-Germain (PSG) broke into an elite club where there have been only three new entrants since 2011-12. Breaking through is difficult in Europe's top five leagues as well. Only seven teams have won the Premier League, which at 33 is approaching middle-age. There have been no first-time winners since Leicester City in 2015-16. It's worse in La Liga which, four short of 100, has had only nine winners and no new champions since Deportivo la Coruna in 1999-2000. Also 96, 16 clubs have won Serie A. Napoli and Sampdoria winning it in successive seasons meant two new champions in 1989-90 and 1990-91, but Italy has seen no first-time winners since. Aged 62, the Bundesliga has been shared by a mere 13 teams with Bayer Leverkusen's first title in 2023-24 also being the first since 2008-09 that Germany had new champions. Ligue 1 in France has seen 18 winners after it began in 1932-33 but no new champions since Montpellier in 2011-12. Taken over by Qatar Sports Investment in 2011, PSG have won every season bar three since. But PSG's power of money did not work in Europe till now. PSG have spent €2.3 billion on player transfers since QSI took over, as per but while it did lead to improvement – 12 successive knockout rounds before 24-25 – they could never make the final push. There could be a number of reasons for this. PSG may have got their signings wrong. Some of the players also had long spells of injury. Neymar Jr was signed for €222 million in 2017 which made the Brazilian the world's most expensive player then. But in six seasons, he missed 138 matches for club and country due to injury, according to PSG also went after a clutch of big names such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos, Edinson Cavani and Dani Alves. Which meant that for most of the time, coaches at PSG were managing a changing room full of stars. Thomas Tuchel had said his job at PSG was more 'like a sports politician or a sports minister than a coach'. Now England coach, Tuchel said the comment was a joke but the point about keeping Neymar Jr and Kylian Mbappe happy stayed. The squad's lack of balance also showed in the PSG front three's reluctance to do defensive work. Mbappe, Messi and Neymar Jr often scored brilliant goals and the overall quality of the team was enough to sweep domestic competitions and even go deep in Europe but never enough to win it. A video on the internet where Luis Enrique is explaining to Mbappe why he needed to do more off the ball tells its own story. Proof of the transformation lay in what Enrique said at the media day ahead of the Champions League final. 'If you analyse our defensive improvements, it is the way our attackers defend,' said the PSG manager. 'You can see how many ball recoveries they have. This is one of the concepts which is hardest to instil because attackers have to change their mindset.' Data from The Athletic shows that PSG have made five more tackles per game this term than the squad of 2022-23. 2-0 up and in control, Ousmane Dembele still tracked back to keep the ball in play on Saturday. At 4-0, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia raced back 60m to deny Denzel Dumfries. Neymar Jr and Messi left in the summer of 2023 when Enrique joined. Mbappe's brilliance was still needed, he got 44 goals in all competitions in his last season at PSG, but club president Nasser al-Khelaifi spoke of 'building a new identity, our own style and way of playing, and a new culture'. Doing that takes time so Enrique, in a departure from the past, was retained even after PSG lost to Borussia Dortmund in the semi-final last season. But proof of the new order came when Enrique benched Dembele against Arsenal because of disciplinary reasons. It signalled the end of star power and meant that now the team would be king. The power of the collective has shown in PSG's press, in how the players seamlessly shifted positions and how compact they have been defensively. Al-Khelaifi's comment also gave football advisor Luis Campos the licence to recruit young. Among Campos's initial signings were Fabian Ruiz and Vitinha who have been instrumental in PSG's midfield. One year later, Dembele and Bradley Barcola joined. Joao Neves, Desire Doue and Willian Pacho came in 2024. With an average age of 24 years and three months, PSG are the youngest team to win the Champions League this century and the second youngest ever.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
PSG old boys pay tribute to the club 🥹
PSG old boys pay tribute to the club 🥹 PSG clinched the Champions League this Saturday, May 31. A historic date for the Parisians who can now enjoy this much-coveted title. Luis Enrique's team is officially the champion of Europe. But before being led by Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, or even Vitinha and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, PSG was built with other names. Advertisement An already historic title praised by many former players. Ronaldinho, Neymar Jr, Lucas Moura, and even Kylian Mbappé paid tribute to their former club, on top of Europe. Also read: - PSG - Luis Enrique's praises on Inter Milan's behavior during the celebrations - The strong message from Marquinhos to Mbappé after PSG's triumph - PSG - Fabian Ruiz wants to highlight Luis Enrique after the Champions League triumph This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here. 📸 FRANCK FIFE - AFP or licensors
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
📋 No Neymar or Rodrygo: Ancelotti announces his first Brazil squad
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here. Carlo Ancelotti arrived in Brazil this weekend, after directing his last game with Real Madrid, in a season that ended with empty hands for the Merengues. The prestigious Italian coach, a multi-champion with several of the biggest clubs in Europe, was officially presented just minutes ago by the Brazilian Football Confederation. TIME CONVOCADO! 🇧🇷 O treinador da Seleção Brasileira, Carlo Ancelotti, anunciou nesta segunda-feira (26) a lista dos convocados para os jogos contra Equador e Paraguai, pelas Eliminatórias da Copa do Mundo É BRASIL! 🇧🇷 — CBF Futebol (@CBF_Futebol) May 26, 2025 And the Brazilian National Team has no time to lose, so shortly after the official presentation, the list of call-ups for the next games of the Verdeamarela was released. Brazil, which is fourth in the Conmebol classification for the 2026 World Cup, will play on June 5th away against Ecuador in Guayaquil, and five days later will host Paraguay at the Corinthians Arena in São are two notable absences in the call-up: that of Neymar Jr., who is not going through a good moment in Santos, and that of Rodrygo, the player that Ancelotti coached until a few days ago in Real Madrid, and is also going through a bad individual moment, apparently aggravated by the last frustrations of the Merengue season. Goalkeepers: Alisson, Bento and Hugo Souza Defenders: Alex Sandro, Alexsandro, Lucas Beraldo, Carlos Augusto, Danilo, Leo Ortiz, Marquinhos, Vanderson, Wesley Midfielders: Andreas Pereira, Andrey Santos, Bruno Guimarães, Casemiro, Ederson, Gerson Forwards: Antony, Estevão, Gabriel Martinelli, Matheus Cunha, Raphinha, Richarlison and Vinícius Jr. Ancelotti will have, at 65 years old, his first experience in charge of a national team, while the Brazilian National Team appoints, only for the fourth time in its history, a non-Brazilian coach, to get out of one of the biggest football crises that the five-time world champion has had. 📸 Wagner Meier - 2025 Getty Images
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
💯 One of only 5 ever: Lewandowski even outshines Messi here
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here. Crazy statistics are a dime a dozen in football. Sometimes it's hard to notice when something truly extraordinary happens. That's exactly what Robert Lewandowski did last night - or rather, completed. With his brace in FC Barcelona's season finale against Athletic Bilbao, the Pole has cracked the hundred league goals mark for the third top-flight club. 💯 Dortmund💯 Bayern 💯 BarcelonaRobert Lewandoski has reached 100+ goals for three different teams 🔥 — Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 25, 2025 In itself, that's an impressive feat. But when we look at who achieved this before Lewandowski, it becomes truly legendary. 100 goals or more for 3 differents clubs (Top leagues only):-Isidro Lángara 🇪🇸-Romário 🇧🇷-Cristiano Ronaldo 🇵🇹-Neymar Jr 🇧🇷-Robert Lewandowski 🇵🇱 — (@Puskas1953) May 25, 2025 Looking at this exclusive club, one thing stands out: Lionel Messi is missing. The superstar has played for three clubs in their national top leagues - Barça, PSG, and Inter Miami - but has scored the most goals and played the most games for Blaugrana.📸 ANDER GILLENEA - AFP or licensors
The National
24-05-2025
- Sport
- The National
Adrien Rabiot lauds 'incredible' Celtic Park atmosphere
The Frenchman currently plies his trade for Marseille, but turned out at Parkhead for Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League in 2017. A star-studded PSG team, including the likes of Neymar Jr, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani, ran out emphatic 5-0 winners that evening. Rabiot was recently asked about the best footballing atmospheres outside of Marseille's infamous Stade Velodrome: "With PSG, we played against Celtic Glasgow," he told CARRE. Read more: "We were winning 5-0, but the guys kept singing, it was incredible, I'd never seen that before. "You know, it's the emotions you experience, even though you're the opposing team. "Even my family was in the stadium, they still remember it, because it's the things you experience. You say, the guys took 5-0, but they're singing all over the stadium. "So it's things like that that mark me, but Marseille, I place it at the top." Rabiot departed PSG for Juventus in 2019. He then spent five years in Turin before returning to his homeland with Marseille last summer. The 30-year-old has enjoyed a fine campaign with the club, scoring nine goals in 29 Ligue 1 appearances, helping them to a second-place finish. Marseille will resultantly play Champions League football next season, where they could come up against Celtic. Rabiot would undoubtedly relish another trip to Glasgow's east end after giving his 2017 visit a glowing reference.
