When your CV is packed with tenures in clubs like Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea, your football pedigree is second to none.Therefore, your words should be listened to very carefully, even if they’re a bit harsh.Emmanuel Petit was a remarkable holding midfielder back in the day, representing not just those fantastic clubs but also the French national team during Les Bleus’ glory days. He now works as a pundit and is known for being quite straightforward about his opinions.”The most important thing is that PSG isn’t just about Ousmane Dembele – it’s a team. In the Ligue 1 Team of the Season, nine players are from Paris Saint-Germain. Luis Enrique was named Coach of the Season, and Dembele the Best Player. I hope Desire Doue will be named Best Young Player. Everything revolves around them, and I think this is their best season since the Qatari owners took over,” Petit told Marca.Once it was competitive and they called it Ligue 1, today it’s just PSG’s playgroundThe best season, even without Ibrahimovic, Messi, Neymar, or Mbappe. It sounds strange, but…”I’m not a PSG fan, but the club’s image has completely changed. For years, I didn’t like them because of how they handled their money. On the pitch, they showed off and behaved badly; off the pitch, their communication was poor. The arrogance of the players – and even the fans – was repulsive.”However…”Since Luis Enrique arrived, especially in recent months, everything has changed. I think something clicked in their heads when they beat Manchester City at the end of January. Their confidence is different now. Luis Enrique smiles at press conferences and jokes with journalists. A few months ago, he was very arrogant – he’s not anymore. And if you look at the average age of the players, I’d say they have a bright future ahead. If they do things right, I’m sure they’ll succeed. They’re becoming a powerhouse.”##EDITORS_CHOICE##On the pitch, the player most responsible for PSG’s rise is undoubtedly Dembele, who has unexpectedly flourished since Kylian Mbappe moved to Real Madrid.”No one expected it. People used to mock him, saying he was so bad at aiming that he’d end up hitting all the birds. It was very frustrating for him. He always played on the right, but when Mbappe left, Luis Enrique made a bold decision – and everything changed. Now, he scores in almost every game, and even when he doesn’t, he assists. Most importantly, he’s not getting injured anymore. He’s now a reliable player. Every time he’s on the pitch, he’s a threat. He loves playing with his teammates.”##NAJAVA_MECA_8931531##It would be unfair, though, to say that Dembele was held back solely because of Mbappe, although Real Madrid hasn’t exactly flourished with him either. Still, Mbappe himself hasn’t been bad – on the contrary, he’s the team’s best player.”It’s been a strange, paradoxical season. I didn’t expect him to score so many goals – he set a record for a Real Madrid debutant – but on the other hand, he didn’t win anything. He scores goals, he had a hat-trick against Barcelona, but in truly important matches, like at home against Arsenal, he did absolutely nothing. The fact is, he arrived as a star to a team that had just won the Champions League, and that was hard for him. Especially playing as a center forward, because that’s not his natural position. So, yes – he was good, but he could’ve been much better with the right team around him. We can talk about individuals, but matches are won with unity, with soul, with team spirit. And that’s exactly what Madrid lacked this season.”But is that all?”Well, they had other problems, too. Losing Toni Kroos was a big blow, and Luka Modric is no longer at his peak. But the team looked divided into two camps: defensive and offensive. The egos in the locker room had a huge impact on player chemistry, especially up front. It’s obvious that Jude Bellingham isn’t having the same kind of season as last year – he doesn’t seem to enjoy his role. The same goes for Vinicius. The long negotiations around his new contract affected him, as did not winning the Ballon d’Or.”A scramble in Premier League for RodrygoAnd on top of that, Real Madrid had to face a formidable Barcelona.”El Clasico matches were incredible, with so many goals. It was like watching two boxers exchange punches, just waiting to see who would fall. But in the end, Barcelona won every game against Real Madrid, even though Mbappe scored so many goals. We all saw that Barcelona were far better than Real. Mbappe can’t win those games alone – he needs a real team around him, and that just wasn’t the case.””Alonso must get guarantees from Florentino Perez that the team will be strengthened, especially in midfield. Florentino always controls the club during the transfer window. And to control matches today, you need world-class players up front, a top goalkeeper – and, above all, a solid midfield. That was Madrid’s weak point.”Brazilian, after all! ‘Carlinho’ takes over the giants’ benchAnd what about Carlo Ancelotti in Brazil?”Can he win the World Cup? First, he’ll have to get past Argentina, which has been the best national team in recent years. This isn’t the same Brazil as when I played. They have great players, but they lack unity. Their results have been poor, and the first thing they need to fix, in my opinion, is the Neymar issue. They have to be decisive – and to me, Neymar is finished.”Speaking of national teams, could France challenge Spain, the current European champion?”They won that title because they were united – all moving and thinking as one… However, I believe the technique is the most important thing, and Spain has proven to be technically the best. That’s why they enjoyed their football. Just look at Fabian Ruiz at PSG. Fans used to mock him, and so did the media and former players. They said he wasn’t the same player for PSG as he was for Spain. But since PSG changed, we’ve seen that Ruiz is actually a key player – and that’s not a coincidence. If you want to improve players individually, there has to be team spirit. That’s why Spain is the best in the world – and France, and the others, are not on that level.”##NAJAVA_MECA_8937881##
