Jérôme Rothen, a former midfielder with AS Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain and the French national team, spoke to Free Foot ahead of Saturday’s Ligue 1 2024-2025 matchday 34 against Auxerre. It was an opportunity to underline the very positive point that could make all the difference to Paris making history this year.
Rothen “All the planets are in the right alignment”.
“They have an advantage this year, which is that everything has gone well. There have been no problems in the press, no problems in the team, no problems behind the scenes. And that’s very rare at PSG. Frankly, in general, even when things are going well, because they’ve won a lot in other years too, but there wasn’t the same atmosphere.
Here, the atmosphere is perfect at every level. At the club, in the atmosphere, at the Parc des Princes. I think you have to make the most of those years. No two years are ever the same. I think you have to take it all in. All the planets are aligned.
The championship is won, there’s the Coupe de France final, the Champions League final, the Champions Trophy is won, there are lots of positive signs for the club.”
We can think of the few waves of criticism suffered by PSG, coach Luis Enrique or goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma at certain times of the season, but this mostly came from outside. And Paris has always responded well: serenity in front of the media, as well as on the pitch.
Clearly, Paris has done a good job of getting rid of unnecessary controversy and tension that used to cloud the atmosphere. There are no “hot” topics, the players are focused on the games and seem genuinely happy to be playing together, with Luis Enrique as their guide.
His communication was nonetheless tackled, the coach was almost a danger to the club and the team. But we can see that, above all, he was able to evacuate any problems and keep his entire team united towards their objectives. It’s a great job by the coach and the PSG management. That’s something that needs to be underlined, and there’s nothing better than titles to do that.
Of course, we know that the media will quickly come back with the negative when there’s an opportunity. Except that it’s a lot harder to find these days.
