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French Ligue1

PSG READY FOR NEYMAR RETURN AHEAD OF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE CAMPAIGN

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With the saga over his on-off move back to Barcelona now over, Neymar could return to action with Paris Saint-Germain this weekend.

The world’s most expensive player has had to come to terms with a third season in Ligue 1 after PSG and his former club failed to agree terms on a transfer before the transfer window shut on September 2.

Neymar has since been away on international duty for Brazil in two friendly matches in the USA, scoring one goal and making another in a 2-2 draw with Colombia and then coming on as a substitute in a 1-0 loss to Peru.

Those were his first appearances this season after the 27-year-old was left out of PSG’s opening four league games amid the uncertainty over his future.

If he is passed fit after a long trip back across the Atlantic, coach Thomas Tuchel may choose to select Neymar in Saturday’s game against Strasbourg, the team against whom he suffered a fractured foot in a cup tie back in January.

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PSG are already without Kylian Mbappe, who has a hamstring injury, as they prepare to start their Champions League campaign at home to Real Madrid next week. Edinson Cavani is also struggling for fitness.

Argentine striker Mauro Icardi is available after joining from Inter, but Tuchel may be tempted to turn to Neymar, even though the Brazilian is suspended for the game against Real and seems unlikely to receive a warm welcome from fans unhappy with his posturing for a transfer.

“He knows that he has made mistakes, but he has no bad intentions,” said his club and international colleague Thiago Silva. “He is an incredible kid. I hope he has a great season.”

Even Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo has had her say, urging Neymar to get his head down and help PSG finally succeed in Europe.

“We turned the Eiffel Tower red and white for him, in the colours of PSG,” she told magazine Tele Loisirs.

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“Now my boy, we love you a lot, and you are going to have to work hard and win us the Champions League.”

One to watch: The stands

French football has been consumed by its battle to eradicate homophobia from stadiums, so all eyes will be on the stands this weekend to see if more matches will be halted by referees.

Seven games have been interrupted so far this season because of anti-gay chants and banners, including a hold-up of more than 10 minutes during a match between Nice and Marseille.

The last week has seen French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet enter into a war of words with the country’s sports minister, former Olympic swimmer Roxana Maracineanu, after saying in a radio interview that stopping matches in such circumstances was “a mistake”.

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On Wednesday the French league (LFP) called on politicians to let them get on with leading the fight against homophobia, while insisting that referees will be left to decide whether to stop matches if they hear “discriminatory” words from the stands.

“For a long time we have tolerated certain chants in stadiums, but today society no longer accepts them,” said LFP president Nathalie Boy de la Tour.

Key stats

53 – The number of league goals scored by Florian Thauvin for Marseille in the last three seasons. This week the French World Cup-winning winger was ruled out until January as he requires ankle surgery.

876 – In millions of dollars, the amount made by French top-flight clubs during the summer transfer window, more than any other league worldwide, according to analysis by FIFA.

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7 – Lille are back in the Champions League group stage for the first time in seven years. Before visiting Ajax next midweek, they play Angers in the French league on Friday.

Fixtures (GMT)

Friday

Lille v Angers (1700), Amiens v Lyon (1845)

Saturday

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Paris Saint-Germain v Strasbourg (1530), Bordeaux v Metz, Brest v Rennes, Dijon v Nimes, Montpellier v Nice (all 1800)

Sunday

Nantes v Reims (1300), Saint-Etienne v Toulouse (1500), Monaco v Marseille (1900)

-AFP

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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French Ligue1

Argentina star Messi to play last game for PSG on Saturday

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Lionel Messi will play his last game for Paris St Germain against Clermont on Saturday, coach Christophe Galtier said on Thursday as he called on fans to give the Argentine forward a warm send-off at the Parc des Princes.

Messi, who has 21 goals and 20 assists for PSG in all competitions this season, moved to the French capital from Barcelona in 2021 on a two-year contract.

The 35-year-old, who led Argentina to the World Cup title in Qatar and also boasts a record seven Ballon d’Or awards, won the Ligue 1 title in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons with PSG as well as the French Super Cup in July 2022.

“I had the privilege of coaching the best player in the history of football. This will be his last match at the Parc des Princes, and I hope that he will receive the warmest of welcomes,” Galtier told reporters on Thursday.

Last month, French media reported that Messi was suspended for two weeks after an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia when he was supposed to train with his team following their 3-1 defeat at home to Lorient in the league.

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“This year, he has been an important part of the team, always available. I don’t think any of the comments or criticisms are justified,” Galtier said.

“He’s always been there for the team. It’s been a great privilege to accompany him throughout the season.”

Messi’s future at PSG had been the subject of much speculation recently, with a source close to the Argentina captain telling Reuters that he had received a formal offer to join Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal next season.

He has also been linked in the media with a move back to boyhood club Barcelona, with the United States’ Major League Soccer club Inter Miami also being touted as a possible destination.

PSG’S TITLE CELEBRATIONS ON HOLD

Messi’s last game for PSG is unlikely to be a joyous affair, with Galtier saying that their title celebrations would be put on ice with the distraught squad’s thoughts occupied with concern for goalkeeper Sergio Rico.

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Rico was involved in a riding accident while participating in an annual pilgrimage in southern Spain, the day after PSG wrapped up the title with one game to spare after a 1-1 draw at Racing Strasbourg.

Rico has been in intensive care after suffering “a serious mishap due to a mule cart and a horse that hit him”, his family said in a statement late on Sunday. Spanish paper Marca reported that Rico had been riding a horse himself.

“There will be no celebrations, it’s been a very difficult week. We’re all affected because we went from winning the French title on Saturday to waking up in more than a little pain on Sunday morning,” Galtier told reporters ahead of PSG’s final league game of the season.

“We’re all affected, and we’re trying as best we can to take our minds off things through the training sessions… We’re very united in sending out lots of positive vibes and energy to Sergio, his mum, his wife and his loved ones.”

-Reuters

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Messi walks out on PSG fans after defeat

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Messi walks out on PSG fans after defeat




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Paris St Germain were lucky enough to enjoy the continued support of their fans during their 2-0 home defeat against Stade Rennais on Sunday – their first at home in Ligue 1 this season, but only a few players went to the Auteuil kop to greet them after a dismal display.

Kylian Mbappe was one of them after the France forward was denied twice by Rennes keeper Steve Mandanda, but Lionel Messi, who looked nothing like the player who inspired Argentina to the World Cup title last December, walked straight to the dressing room, as did the disappointing Marco Verratti.

PSG lead the standings on 66 points from 28 games with a seven-point advantage over Olympique de Marseille, who ended Stade de Reims’s 19-game unbeaten streak in the league with a 2-1 away win courtesy of an Alexis Sanchez double.

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Neymar to leave hospital on Sunday after operation

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Neymar to leave hospital on Sunday after operation




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Brazilian football star Neymar is seen after surgery with (from left) Brazilian national team doctor Rodrigo Lasmarchief, Aspetar’s chief medical officer Pieter D’Hooghe, and British surgeon James Calder. PHOTO: AFP

Brazil star Neymar will leave a Qatar sports hospital on Sunday to rest before starting rehabilitation after an operation on his ankle, officials said.

Doctors at the Aspetar hospital would not give a date when the 31-year-old Paris Saint-Germain striker would return to action but they are confident that Friday’s surgery was a success.

PSG said before the operation the forward could be out for up to four months, ruling him out of the rest of this season.

“Neymar Junior was operated yesterday, it was very successful,” Mr Hakim Chalabi, assistant director-general at the Aspetar hospital and an adviser to PSG’s medical team, told AFP.

“Right now, he is very good and he is happy.

“He is not so painful and the surgeons who operated are very happy.”

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Neymar will leave the 50-bed specialist sports hospital on Sunday, officials said.

Mr Chalabi said that after a period of rest, PSG will start physiotherapy.

“Later on, we will evaluate a time for a return on the field. Right now it is a bit soon to talk about.

“He is going to be on crutches for a few days but then after he should be back to half weight lifting.”

Neymar was stretchered off with his latest injury in a Ligue 1 game against Lille last month. He injured the same ankle in 2018.

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Mr Chalabi said that after the operation, Neymar “should be back at a normal level but with less risk of injury.”

Fitness has been a regular concern since PSG signed Neymar for a world-record €222 million in 2017.

He has played only 112 of PSG’s 228 Ligue 1 matches since his arrival.

AFP

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