Emery Wants Matuidi To Stay
French midfielder Blaise Matuidi has been linked with a move away from the Ligue 1 champions for some time now, especially to Serie A champions Juventus, and Premier League club Chelsea.
Matuidi signed for PSG – a club he had been a fan of since his younger days – in 2011, as a replacement for the departed Claude Makelélé, who retired from football at the end of the previous season.
The transfer fee was undisclosed, but is purported to be in the region of €7.5 million plus future incentives.
The arrival of new manager Unai Emery and the signing of Sevilla midfielder Kyrchowiak has cast uncertainty over Matuidi’s future.
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Matuidi was instrumental for PSG last season. He scored 4 goals and assisted 6, and made 1623 passes, with a pass completion rate of 92%. He contributed defensively too, with 54 tackles won, and 46 interceptions, helping PSG win the Ligue 1 title.
Unai Emery has tried to remove the uncertainty over the midfielder’s future in his recent interview, by stating:
“We talked about all this with Matuidi. I am very pleased with him and he is happy here.
“For us, everything is clear. We hope he continues with us. I want to continue the rest of the season with the players I currently have at my disposal. My position is clear, I want him here this season.”
Matuidi’s teammate Thiago Motta supported his his manager’s thought, by saying the Frenchman’s exit would be a loss.
“Of course he’d be a big loss,” the Italian midfielder said.
“I have a good relationship with Blaise, if he were to ask me for advice then I’d advise him to stay here.
“In previous years there was competition with [Adrien] Rabiot, [Benjamin] Stambouli, [Yohan] Cabaye, and most often it was Blaise, Marco [Verratti] and me who played. Midfield was our strongest area.
“I appreciate Blaise both on and off the pitch, he’s done a wonderful job for the team and brought a positive mentality to the squad. He’s experienced, but if he wants some advice then mine would be ‘stay here’. If we lost a player like that, we’d be losing a lot.”
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