Tuchel: Neymar can't perform without a close bond to his coach

Neymar is unable to perform at his full capacity unless he has a "close bond" with his coach, according to Paris Saint-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel.

Brazil star Neymar has been blighted by injuries in both his two seasons at PSG but, when he has been fit, the 27-year-old has taken Ligue 1 by storm, scoring 34 goals in 37 matches.

Nevertheless, there remain reports Neymar has not entirely warmed to life in Paris and he is consistently linked with other clubs, particularly former club Barcelona and Real Madrid.

PSG are hopeful of keeping both Neymar and Kylian Mbappe next season and Tuchel knows he has to keep the Brazilian on side if he is to get the very best out of him.

May 18, 2019

"Neymar is an incredibly warm person who cannot perform without a close bond to the coach and his team-mates without feeling really happy," Tuchel told Eurosport.

"He has antennas for every discord in the changing room, for any kind of criticism - he takes everything to heart.

"They [Neymar and Mbappe] are similar and different. Their quality is beyond question.

"In addition, they have a huge self-confidence. You can feel that, you need that, too, in order to always be able to decide games.

"This should not be mixed up with arrogance. It needs to be like this if you want to be the best of the best and you want to prove this on the pitch every three days."

Mbappe recently suggested he could leave PSG in the coming months and, although the club swiftly shot down such a scenario, Tuchel praised the World Cup winner for his singlemindedness and focus.

He added: "Kylian is extremely focused, confident and independent for his age – extremely. He even counts his training goals!

February 16, 2019

"At some point he even presented himself a shirt with the inscription '100 goals in training'. I then asked him: 'Which goals do you even count? Even those on small goals?' He answered: 'No, only the big [goals], where a goalkeeper is in it.'

"He is a real number nine, because you want to have someone who completes the move and for whom this is important.

"A super nice guy, very confident - he knows what he needs and what he wants."