All PSG players, including Lionel Messi and Neymar, wore shirts with Pele's face on them. The players also gave Pele a minute's applause before kick-off. The Brazilian legend died of cancer on December 29, 2022 in Sao Paulo. Pele had a tumor removed from his colon in September 2021 and has since received permanent treatment. “Inspiration and love marked the journey of King Pele, who passed away peacefully today. Love, love, love, forever,” read a family statement from the Brazil legend. The Ligue 1 match will mark Messi's return to club football after winning the FIFA World Cup with Argentina in December 2022. PSG, who are top of the league table, face bottom side Angers tonight as they hope to go further than their top four. Points lead at the top of League 1
Messi, who lifted the World Cup at Qatar's Lusail Stadium on December 18, has been training for the past two days, but Gaultier said he needs some more time to play competitively. Lionel Messi will be rested for Paris Saint-Germain's French Cup match at third division side Chatroux as the Argentina forward needs more time to recover from the World Cup win, coach Christophe Gaultier said on Thursday. Messi, who lifted the World Cup at Qatar's Lusail Stadium on December 18, has been training for the past two days, but Gaultier said he needs some more time to play competitively. "He's had a fantastic World Cup. He had commitments and was going back to his country for the celebrations and we wanted him to go home with his family," Gaultier said ahead of Friday's trip to Chateauroux in the Round of 64. Messi, who lifted the World Cup at Qatar's Lusail Stadium on December 18, has been training for the past two days, but Gaultier said he needs some more time to play competitively. Argentina's Lionel Messi resumes training with the Paris Saint-Germain team at the team's training camp in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, west of Paris, Thursday, January 5, 2023. Argentina's Lionel Messi resumes training with the Paris Saint-Germain team at the team's training camp in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, west of Paris, Thursday, January 5, 2023. | Photo credit: Thibault Camus
Neymar skipped training on Thursday as he traveled to New York with friend and teammate Achraf Hakimi, resting France forward Kylian Mbappe after losing the World Cup final.
“We knew there would be absences after the World Cup. "As for Neymar's absence in training, it was scheduled after all the players were evaluated after returning from the World Cup," Galtier said. We decided with the medical staff that Neymar needed time on everything with the ankle problem (in Qatar). He won't play tomorrow. However, Galtier insisted he will field a "very competitive team" and started Costa Rica keeper Keylor Navas in place of Gianluigi Donnarumma as PSG look to put their RC Lens loss behind them. "There was frustration, disappointment and sometimes anger, but we want to come back with an important game because the cup is one of the club's main goals," said Galtier, who won the cup twice as assistant coach with Sochaux and Olympique Lyonnais. The Argentine FIFA World Cup winner, who joined PSG on a free transfer from Barcelona on a two-year contract in 2021, is out of contract this year. Lionel Messi has returned to Paris Saint-Germain training after winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup and is expected to start in his first Ligue 1 game against Angers since his return. The Argentine World Cup winner, who joined PSG on a free transfer from Barcelona on a two-year deal in 2021, is out of contract this year. But the French side will look to continue his form for much longer, with 14 assists and 12 goals so far this season. "I know there are discussions and that the club has spoken with Leo, but I don't know where they are," PSG Galtier told reporters on Tuesday. "Leo seems to me to be happy in Paris and I think there is a real desire on behalf of the club to extend Leo's contract," Luis Campos said, adding that PSG's forward Kylian Mbappe had returned to training with Paris Saint-Germain. Despite scoring a hat-trick in the World Cup final, Jermaine was defeated three days later. The 24-year-old posted a disappointing picture after France lost to Argentina led by his PSG team-mate Lionel Messi in the penalty shootout despite scoring twice to bring the 2018 champions level. However, Mbappe was pictured at the French champions' training ground despite PSG giving players 10 days off.
"Kylian Mbappe returned to training on Wednesday," PSG tweeted.
Mbappe, who finished top scorer at the World Cup with eight goals, was not expected until January and PSG did not say whether he would be available for selection for the Ligue 1 match with Strasbourg on December 28. Messi's representatives with President Nasser Al-Khelaifi
from Sports Night https://ift.tt/J2vfMAI
via IFTTT