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Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) secured a 3-0 win over Urawa Reds in a friendly on Saturday at the Saitama Stadium. Pablo Sarabia, Kylian Mbappe and Arnaud Kalimuendo scored for the Ligue 1 champions.
Meanwhile, the Parisians are happy with Lionel Messi's pre-season preparation. Elsewhere, Neymar wants to stay at the Parc des Princes.
On that note, here's a look at the key PSG transfer stories as on July 23, 2022:
PSG happy with Lionel Messi's pre-season preparation
PSG are happy with Lionel Messi’s performances in pre-season, according to journalist Arnaud Hermant. The Argentinean cut a sorry figure last season after arriving from Barcelona. However, big things are expected of him in the upcoming campaign.
Speaking on L’Equipe du Soir, Hermant said that the club’s staff are pleased with Messi's involvement and professionalism.
“Messi, the staff are very happy with it. The staff finds him very involved, very professional. He finds him in good shape. He is not yet at the top, but he is not bad,” Hermant said.
Neymar wants to stay at Parc des Princes
Neymar says that he wants to continue his association with PSG beyond the summer. The Brazilian has been heavily linked with a move away from the Parc des Princes ahead of the new season.
Speaking after the win over Urawa Reds, the 30-year-old also said that he has nothing to prove in the upcoming season.
“Is what true? I want to stay at PSG. I don’t know about the club, because they’ve never said anything to me. I have a contract for several years here. There you go. For now, they’ve said nothing,” said Neymar
He added:
“No (I don’t have anything to prove this season). The truth is that I have nothing to prove to anyone. People speak too much because they can do nothing else. They know me; they know how I am, how I play. I have nothing to show. I love playing football; I’m happy.”
Christophe Galtier happy with Parisians' performance
Christophe Galtier is pleased with PSG’s performance against Urawa Reds. The Frenchman is expected to guide the Ligue 1 champions to glory next season. Galtier took charge of the first team this summer and is trying to instill his philosophy.
Speaking after the win, Galtier stressed the importance of winning the ball back early.
"There is satisfaction that we scored three goals and didn't concede any, although for me; we did give away chances. And from the moment that we managed to play our game, things became a lot more interesting. There was a lot of technical link-up, lots of combined play, lots of connections between the players,” said Galtier.
He added:
"This evening we scored great goals; we had the ability to always want to win the ball back as soon as possible, which can lead to a lack of balance at times. And we really need to improve in this area."
Galtier continued:
"To know when we need to bring the intensity to recover the ball early, because at other times, we will need to manage the more difficult periods and be more compact, giving the opposition less chances on goal and to allow ourselves to recover."
The manager also said that his team lacks consistency, but that's expected in the early days of pre-season.
"But on the whole, with those who started the match and those that finished it, there were interesting signs; the players are beginning to improve physically, and they are finding their feet in terms of what we are putting in place.”
He concluded:
“It was an interesting match in a full stadium against a team in the middle of their season, playing very direct football. We scored very good goals, with great skill, and had a desire to do things together. But for now, we lack consistency, which is to be expected at this stage of pre-season."
