31 March 2023 , 21:59
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Patrica Evra has claimed that Paris Saint-Germain are a "show business club" where football "isn't the priority" in a scathing assessment of the French giants.
Former Manchester United defender Evra even referenced Kim Kardashian 's appearance at a match to accentuate his point. Reality star Kardashian attended one of PSG's recent matches, a surprise 2-0 defeat to Rennes, watching the game from the swanky executive areas at their home stadium, the Parc des Princes.
Nearly a fortnight after the fixture, Evra joined ex- Monaco teammate Jerome Rothen on his RMC Sport show and tore into the Ligue 1 champions for their displays on and off the pitch. Although Neymar, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and co look set to retain their domestic crown, Christophe Galiter 's men have endured a poor start to 2023 and once again crumbled in the Champions League by losing to German heavyweights Bayern Munich, all leading to the former United left-back not holding back in his verdict.
"I have only one problem in Paris: we unpack the red carpet for everyone," Evra claimed. "You arrive, some players don't even have 10 Champions League games... It was [ex-PSG defender] Dani Alves at the time who told me, 'But Pat, they will never win the Champions League. You're coming, we're rockstars'.
"In the VIP stands, you don't see [PSG hero] Bernard Lama, instead it's Kim Kardashian and the like. It's a show business club, football isn't the priority, no. [Chairman] Nasser Al Khelaifi loves the club, they're doing a great job – but the message seems to be that when I'm going to watch a PSG game, it's to watch a concert.
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"I'm in the VIP lounge, there's Champagne, appetisers… But guys, where are the old players?" When you go to United, on the seat it says the name of legends... There is no Leonardo Di Caprio who will come to see the game, we are not in Hollywood."
Have your say! Do you agree with Evra? Give us your verdict in the comments section.
Kim Kardashian recently watched PSG lose 2-0 to Rennes from the club's VIP seats (Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)PSG's recent defeat to Bayern in the Champions League ended their hopes of finally becoming European champions and - as is par for the course when they crash out of the competition - prompted a fierce debating surrounding how the club is run. Evra, 41, reckons that the lack of a real challenge in their domestic league contributes to their continued downfall on the continental stage.
"I think that for Paris, the French championship is too easy," the former France international declared. "At the finish, when you arrive in the Champions League, reality takes you in the face. But you're not ready. Because you play so much with a cigar in your mouth when you play in the French championship. You arrive in the Champions League, you can buy who you want, it will be complicated."