Former France international Emmanuel Petit believes that Paris Saint-Germain has done a poor job in building around Lionel Messi and Neymar.
PSG football advisor Luis Campos went all out to revamp the team’s midfield depth over the recent summer transfer window, signing Vitinha, Carlos Soler, Fabian Ruiz, and Renato Sanches. PSG manager Christophe Galtier has also provided crucial playing time minutes to prospect Warren Zaire-Emery this season.
Still, Petit is not much fond of just how PSG has constructed its roster, as the former FIFA World Cup winner does not see that Messi and Neymar have “soldiers behind them.”
“It’s not up to Lionel Messi or Neymar to adapt, it’s the players around them,” Petit said during a recent appearance on RMC Sport’s “Rothen s’enflamme” program. “Everywhere they have gone, they have been brilliant because the players around them have put themselves at their service. That’s the big problem with PSG, they don’t have a team of soldiers behind them.
“When you have these stars there, you form a workforce that is the measure of these players there, that they are able to run in all directions, to bring intensity. The Ruiz, Soler, even Verratti are not profiles like that.”
Messi and Neymar have been vital players for PSG in Ligue 1 this season, as they have combined to account for 41 percent of the team’s total goals scored in league play.
PSG will return to Ligue 1 play on Sunday with an away matchup against Olympique de Marseille.
