• Neymar had a great night for PSG against Angers. Reuters
    Neymar had a great night for PSG against Angers. Reuters
  • Neymar celebrates scoring their second goal with Kylian Mbappe. Reuters
    Neymar celebrates scoring their second goal with Kylian Mbappe. Reuters
  • PSG's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his side's sixth goal against Angers at the Parc des Princes. AP
    PSG's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his side's sixth goal against Angers at the Parc des Princes. AP
  • Neymar (L) celebrates with teammates after scoring the third. EPA
    Neymar (L) celebrates with teammates after scoring the third. EPA
  • Neymar after sustaining an injury. Reuters
    Neymar after sustaining an injury. Reuters
  • Neymar, left, scores his side's third goal. AP
    Neymar, left, scores his side's third goal. AP
  • Kylian Mbappe and Neymar in action. AFP
    Kylian Mbappe and Neymar in action. AFP
  • Neymar takes on Angers midfielder Antonin Bobichon. AFP
    Neymar takes on Angers midfielder Antonin Bobichon. AFP
  • Neymar Jr speaks with Kylian Mbappe during the warm up. EPA
    Neymar Jr speaks with Kylian Mbappe during the warm up. EPA
  • Julian Draxler celebrates scoring the fourth. Reuters
    Julian Draxler celebrates scoring the fourth. Reuters
  • PSG players celebrate after Idrissa Gueye scored their side's fifth. AP
    PSG players celebrate after Idrissa Gueye scored their side's fifth. AP
  • Italian defender Alessandro Florenzi celebrates after scoring the first goal. AFP
    Italian defender Alessandro Florenzi celebrates after scoring the first goal. AFP
  • Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel congratulates Neymar and midfielder Ander Herrera. AFP
    Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel congratulates Neymar and midfielder Ander Herrera. AFP

'Everybody has lost millions': PSG director Leonardo hits back at Thomas Tuchel's criticism of transfer activity


  • English
  • Arabic

Problems within Paris Saint-Germain got exposed following sporting director Leonardo's remarks in the aftermath of their win in Ligue 1 over the weekend.

After his team defeated Angers 6-1 with Neymar scoring twice and Kylian Mbappe striking once, Leonardo spoke to journalists at the Parc des Princes and responded to manager Thomas Tuchel's criticism the day before of the club's transfer activity.

Leonardo said that neither he nor the club "appreciated" Tuchel's assertion that the PSG squad had been weakened since they reached the Champions League final in August.

"If someone is not happy, if he decides to stay, he must respect either the sports policy or the internal rules," Leonardo said.

"You have to understand the moment we are all living through, these are very serious situations. Not understanding this situation, we didn't like it. Now we're going to address it internally."

Tuchel complained on Thursday that the club had not done enough ahead of what is a demanding and compressed season. Leonardo responded that the problems created by the coronavirus extended beyond the playing field.

"Everybody has lost millions, it's weird to talk about it. Nobody is buying , except in England, which is a world apart", said Leonardo, adding that the health crisis had cost PSG almost €100 million ($117m).

It was the first time that Leonardo has publicly criticised the coach, who he inherited when he took over in July 2019.

PSG won every domestic trophy available in France last season before losing narrowly to Bayern Munich in August's Champions League final in Lisbon.

However, since the end of last season their captain Thiago Silva, all-time top scorer Edinson Cavani, right-back Thomas Meunier, striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and defensive starlet Tanguy Kouassi have left.

Apart from making Mauro Icardi's loan move from Inter Milan into a permanent transfer, the only new arrivals are right-back Alessandro Florenzi, on loan from Roma, and third-choice goalkeeper Alexandre Letellier.