Al-Khelaifi: "My goal for the next few years is to have only Parisian players in our team. There is so much talent in our region. The best players from our region deserve to play for PSG. It will take time, but it is a goal."
Tuesday 21 June 2022 22:02, UK
Paris Saint-Germain are close to agreeing a deal for Nice boss Christophe Galtier to become their new manager, with president Nasser Al-Khelaifi's future aim being an all-Parisian team at the Parc des Princes.
The Ligue 1 champions, who are close to finalising the departure of head coach Mauricio Pochettino, want to be as respectful as possible to Nice though.
However, Al-Khelaifi has revealed that he has not spoken to Zinedine Zidane either directly or indirectly about the role in the French capital.
"We chose another option," he told Le Parisien. "We chose a coach who will be the best for what we want to put in place."
Galtier, 55, guided Lille to the Ligue 1 title in 2020-21, before joining Nice, who went on to seal a fifth-place finish under him in the French top flight last season.
Meanwhile, according to Al-Khelaifi, PSG's goal for next few years is to have only Parisian players in their lineup.
"We want players who love the club, who love to fight, who love to win," he added. "And we want this mentality to spread throughout the club.
"You tell us that this is the end of bling-bling in Paris, but Neymar is the prototype of the bling-bling player. Does he still have a future at PSG? What I can tell you is that we expect all the players to do much more than they did last season. Much more!
"They all have to be at 100 per cent. Obviously, we weren't good enough to go far. For next season, the objective is clear: work every day at 200%. Give everything we have for this shirt, give the maximum and we'll see the result. We must become humble again. We have to change to avoid injuries, suspensions and fouls that turn a match upside down.
"We have to stop saying: 'We want to win this and that and that'. We build. You have to be disciplined, on and off the pitch. Anyone who wants to stay in their comfort zone, who doesn't want to fight, will stay on the sidelines.
"And we have to create a real team, find a real collective spirit. That will be the mission of the new coach. We want players who are proud to represent PSG and ready to fight every day.
Now, PSG's position is clear: players who are not part of the project will have to leave. Some have taken advantage of the situation, now it's over.
"Many players are for sale but none of them want to leave. Are they paid too much in Paris? No, just compare with the salaries of clubs abroad. Perhaps they simply don't have any offers...
"The Covid period has greatly reduced the market and the means of the clubs. This is also a reality. Now, PSG's position is clear: Players who are not part of the project will have to leave. Some have taken advantage of the situation, now it's over!
"To change this mentality, will you recruit more French players? We are here for a long time. We're going to have the best training centre in the world. My goal for the next few years is to have only Parisian players in our team. There is so much talent in our region. The best players from our region deserve to play for PSG. It will take time, but it is a goal."
Former Monaco and Lille sporting director Luis Campos also recently joined PSG as a football adviser following the sacking of sporting director Leonardo and Al-Khelaifi believes Campos will help the club discover the next Mbappe.
"Luis Campos is going to concentrate on the first team. But we want to discover new talents, new markets. We need to explore new directions. We need to find players who will be proud to be in Paris, for the club, for football and only for football."
Carlo Ancelotti - 1x Copa del Rey (2014), 2x Champions League (2014, 2022), 1x Super Cup (2014), FIFA Club World Cup (2014), 1x Bundesliga (2017), 1x La Liga (2022).
Unai Emery - 1x Europa League finalist (2019), 1x Europa League (2021), 1x Champions League semi-finalist (2022).
Thomas Tuchel - 1x Champions League (2021), 1x Super Cup (2021), 1x UEFA Men's Coach of the Year (2021), 1x The Best FIFA Football Coach (2021), 1x FIFA Club World Cup (2021).
