PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino spoke to 'El Transistor' and talked about several topics. The Argentinian coach defended Neymar after it was revealed that he will the Champions League first leg tie against Barcelona because of injury.
PSG have got a very big absentee for the game against Barca at the Camp Nou. It is Neymar, who got injured against Caen and that will make him miss the first leg at the Camp Nou.
Pochettino, in a chat with 'El Transistor', referred to the incident: "Just before the injury, we were going to make a change. Because of his play, he gets tackled too much. Maybe referees should apply common sense and protect him a bit more. Neymar enjoys playing with the ball at his feet. It's not a provocation, he loves football."
On the Brazilian's absence for the first leg against the Catalans, Pochettino said that his absence was a very important loss. "Ney is very sad, he was really happy about returning to Barcelona, playing against Barca, he really likes this competition, it's a big loss for us. We hope to have him for the return leg, but it depends on his recovery."
The Argentinian coach also talked about Messi. After everything that happened with the fax, PSG and Man City, among other clubs, got ready to try and sign Messi. In the end, the '10' decided to stay for another season and it could be his last at Barca.
The Parisian outfit are trying to get the '10' and Barca are very annoyed. In fact, 'France Football' published a picture of Messi wearing a PSG shirt on their front page in the last few days.
Therefore, Pochettino wanted to clear things up: "Nobody has disrespected anybody in Paris. Di Maria was asked whether he would like to play with Messi. What do you want him to answer? You're not disrespecting Barcelona with comments like that, let's not take things out of context."
"It has created which is difficult to understand. I think it's fine for a player to say that he would like to play alongside a teammate in the national team," he added.
With regards to the Argentinian star, this is what the PSG coach said. "Messi is a star, a competitive animal. I've spoken to him sometimes in derbies and we have a good relationship," Pochettino said.
Lastly, Pochettino, who said that Barca did not call him last summer, referred to a hypothetical future on the Real Madrid bench. "In my contract, there is no clause in case Real Madrid call me. I'm very happy at PSG and I hope to be here many more years. If you ask whether someday I'd like to coach Real Madrid, which coach will tell you he would not like to coach one of the best clubs in the world, if not the best," he concluded.