Qatari motivational speaker and YouTube streamer Ghanim Al-Muftah with Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, President of PSG, on Tuesday
Ghanim Al-Muftah roots for PSG during Champions League showdown in London
Qatari motivational speaker and YouTube streamer Ghanim Al-Muftah with Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, President of PSG, on Tuesday
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The National
14 hours ago
- The National
Lionel Messi and Barca old boys face Club World Cup test against former coach Luis Enrique's PSG
For someone about to celebrate their birthday and whose team had just qualified for the knockout stages of the Fifa Club World Cup, it was a visibly frustrated Lionel Messi after the final whistle at Hard Rock Stadium. Inter Miami had been cruising at 2-0 up against Palmeiras with 10 minutes to go, only for the Brazilians to grab two late goals to snatch a point and deny the MLS side all three points. More importantly, it meant Miami had missed out on top spot in Group A, and that instead of taking on another Brazilian side in Botafogo in the last 16, it would be newly crowned Uefa Champions League winners – and Messi's former club – Paris Saint-Germain up next. It had been vintage Messi – who turned 38 on Tuesday - in their previous game when the World Cup winner, and eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, had curled home a trademark free-kick to secure victory over Porto, after Miami opened the tournament with a disappointing goalless draw with Al Ahly. Beating the Portuguese outfit meant Miami had created history by becoming the first Concacaf team to defeat a European side in an official Fifa tournament, but repeating the trick against the might of PSG is a far trickier prospect. 'If we make these mistakes against PSG we will pay a heavy price,' admitted Luis Suarez, who scored a brilliant second goal against Palmeiras and won the player-of-the-match award. Messi joined Miami in the summer of 2023 after leaving Paris following a difficult spell which had ended with a fractured relationship between the player and PSG fans. The Argentine had scored 32 goals and assisted in a further 35 in 75 games, while also helping PSG win the Ligue 1 title in both his seasons spent in Paris between 2021 and 2023. But in a team of galactico signings – that also included the likes of Sergio Ramos, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe – PSG's failure to make it beyond the Champions League last 16 meant the Messi era was considered a failure. The fact that Messi was also suspended for two weeks by the club for an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia – for which he later apologised – only added to the tensions. 'I went through two years which I didn't enjoy,' recalled Messi in an interview earlier this year. 'I wasn't happy on a daily basis, with the training, the matches. I had a hard time adapting to all that.' Miami coach Javier Mascherano is confident his former Barcelona and Argentina teammate can channel those memories into helping his current side produce what would be a major shock in the US. 'It's clear that it would better for us if he was angry, because he's one of those players who, when he has something in mind, gives a bit extra,' Mascherano told ESPN. 'In the end, what Leo wants is to win games, like the great player that he is,' added Miami teammate Jordi Alba. 'He was there for two years and only he knows what happened.' Adding to the intrigue of Sunday's game in Atlanta (kicking off 11pm UAE time) is the fact PSG are managed by former Barcelona coach Luis Enrique. Barca boys turned Miami men Macherano, Alba, Messi, Suarez and Sergio Busquets were all part of Luis Enrique's 2015 team that secured the Catalan giants a memorable treble – a feat the Spaniard has just repeated with PSG. And the respect they have for their old manager is clear. 'I've said it infinite times: For me, he's the best – I think not just as a coach, but also how he manages the group,' said left-back Alba. 'He's a phenomenon. I'm excited to see him, as well as his entire staff. I'll give him a hug but when the ref blows the opening whistle, try to beat him.' 'He's a coach who influenced me greatly,' added striker Suarez. 'I already had a competitive DNA, but he injected even more into me.' Luis Enrique's stock has never been higher following their magnificent 5-0 demolition job over Inter Milan in the Champions League final, although there have been bumps in road as they hunt a quadruple. The Parisians started their Group B fixtures with a 4-0 thrashing of Atletico Madrid only to then fall to a shock loss to Botafogo before defeating Seattle Sounders and clinching a last-16 clash with Miami. 'Our coach is incredible,' Portuguese midfielder Joao Neves told after the Seattle win. 'He gives us confidence, he gives us freedom, but with responsibility. Possession is what matters most. 'He wants us to have the ball and make the other team run. And when we don't have it, we have to get it back quickly. It doesn't matter who the opposing team is, it's always the same: it's eleven against eleven. We all attack, we all defend.' The exit of Mbappe last summer marked the end of an era at PSG, with Luis Enrique putting his faith in hungry young players rather than big-name signings. That is not to say PSG have stopped spending money, far from it, but they are now investing in younger talent. Arrivals over the past 12 months include Neves for €60 million, forward Desire Doue for €59m – both aged 20 – while €70m was forked out in January for 24-year-old winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. 'I've never said I don't want stars, I want a team full of good players,' insists Luis Enrique. 'We don't want players who come and act like they're doing us some kind of favour. 'It should be just the opposite: we want players who are hungry, who want to come to a one-of-a-kind club like PSG, to a one-of-a-kind city and a one-of-a-kind country, players who want to write their names in the club's history books.'
Dubai Eye
2 days ago
- Dubai Eye
Manchester City keeper Ederson dismisses exit rumours as fake news
Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson has said any reports of his impending departure from the club in the close season are fake news as he enters the final year of his contract. Ederson has been City's number one since he joined the club from Benfica for 40 million euros ($46.90 million) in 2017. The 31-year-old has won six Premier League titles and the Champions League with City while he has also claimed the Premier League Golden Glove three times for the most clean sheets. The Brazilian was heavily linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League, mentioning he had received an "unusual proposal" in October, but said at the Club World Cup that his head is with City. 'No, my future is here,' Ederson told reporters. "Some friends send me a lot of news but 99 per cent is fake news. I understand you guys (media), you need the news to put a like on social media or rant for the news. 'I understand, but there's a lot of fake news around my name. My head is here, it stays with City. It gives me everything to go back to the Premier League again and try to win the Champions League as well. My mind is staying in the club.' City boss Pep Guardiola said he did not know anything about Ederson's contract. The keeper will leave as a free agent next year if the club do not extend his contract. Guardiola said: "What I can say, I'm so pleased and delighted with what I'm seeing in the training sessions and delighted that Eddie is still with us. "We cannot define what we have done in this incredible, spectacular decade without him. His contribution has been massive in many, many aspects and I'm really pleased."
Gulf Today
3 days ago
- Gulf Today
Messi and Miami relish reunion with PSG and Enrique at Club World Cup clash
Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano is hoping that Lionel Messi's memories of his unhappy time at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) will fire him up for Sunday's clash between the two teams in the Club World Cup. Miami were surprise qualifiers from Group A after beating Porto and drawing with Palmeiras and Al Ahly and now face the daunting task of playing the recently crowned European champions. Messi joined Miami after two seasons in the French capital and made clear he had not enjoyed his time with PSG. 'It's clear that it would better for us if he was angry, because he's one of those players who, when he has something in mind, gives a bit extra,' Mascherano told ESPN. The Argentine coach was clear though that the emotions will be less than if Messi were up against PSG on European soil rather than facing his old team in Atlanta. 'I think that's in the past now, it's another story. Also, the fact that it's here in the United States, I don't think the atmosphere will be the same, but what we will try to do is play a great game. We know that in order to have a chance, we have to play a perfect game, and well, we'll go for it,' he said. After joining Miami in Major League Soccer, Messi reflected on his time in Paris saying it had been 'difficult'. 'I spent two years that I didn't enjoy. I wasn't happy on a day-to-day basis, with the training sessions, the games, I found it hard to adapt to all that,' he said. The eight-times Ballon d'Or winner will face a very different PGS to the one that he left with the club having been transformed under Spanish coach Luis Enrique. Luis Enrique is a familiar face for several of the Miami team who played under him at Barcelona. 'He's the best': Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Messi and Mascherano all featured for Enrique's Barca, winning the treble under him in 2015. 'I've said it infinite times: For me, he's the best - I think not just as a coach, but also how he manages the group,' said Alba, who also worked with Luis Enrique with the Spanish national team. 'He's a phenomenon. I'm excited to see him, as well as his entire staff. I'll give him a hug but when the ref blows the opening whistle, try to beat him. Which is what all of us here are trying to do' added the left-back. Suarez, who scored in the 2-2 draw with Palmeiras on Monday, was also full of praise for the Spanish coach. 'For me, along with Maestro (Oscar) Tabarez of the (Uruguay) national team, he was the most important coach of my career, for what they taught me, for what I learned in the day-to-day with them,' he said. 'He's a coach who influenced me greatly. I already had a competitive DNA, but he injected even more into me. He taught me how to move within a space where I had to play a role I wasn't used to, not touching the ball a lot ... Not to mention on a personal level, a relationship of great respect and admiration for what he generated for us as players.' Mascherano, in his first club coaching job, said he remains a personal friend of the PSG coach and his family. 'That is the beautiful thing about football sometimes. You face these kind of things and, well, in my opinion, I do not deserve this as a coach just yet. But yes, it will be a very beautiful opportunity. I always wish him all the best; that won't be the case for Sunday. I hope luck will be on our side on Sunday. But yes, I have a very good relationship with him. I appreciate him a lot,' he said. Agence France-Presse
