Paris St Germain head coach Thomas Tuchel has offered no guarantees that star forwards Kylian Mbappe and Neymar will stay at the club.
Mbappe grabbed headlines with his acceptance speech after being named the French professional footballers’ union’s Ligue 1 player of the season, suggesting he may need to consider “a new project”.
Those comments from the 20-year-old World Cup winner fuelled speculation about a move away from the Ligue 1 champions, while Neymar’s future is a source of constant conjecture.
Tuchel felt Mbappe’s comments were unnecessary and admitted he could not be certain the pair would remain at the club.
“As a coach, I do want them to continue, but this is football, we are not naive,” Tuchel told a press conference, as reported by AS.
“Many clubs want to transfer many players and the market is crazy, but if you ask me, the coach, yes, I want them here next season. But if they are not, we will find solutions.
“Mbappe has goals, he is very intelligent and maybe he thought it was time to say it, but he is invited, like all PSG players, to assume responsibilities.
“It is not necessary to make a speech to say that. He’s a special guy, he wants to score, score and score, win all the possible titles… we have to accept it, I’m not angry.”
Tuchel has guided PSG to another dominant league campaign, but the club once again fell short in the Champions League after their shock last-16 exit to Manchester United.
That has raised pressure on the German manager, but he insists he is determined to help the club move forward.
“It’s always my goal to grow and learn, that’s why I’m here,” he added. “It’s a gift to be a coach, it was important for me to work in another country, it’s a great experience, but it’s just the beginning.
“The last phase of the season was a bit difficult, we made an analysis, the club knows it and now we have to improve.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here