Christophe Galtier angrily articulated his frustration about the latest Kylian Mbappe transfer speculation as the Paris Saint-Germain boss questioned why his point of view is never believed.
In his first season with PSG, Galtier has had to cope with reports and rumours of unrest within his squad, and this week saw newspaper claims from Spain that Mbappe is once again thinking about a future away from Paris.
That seemed improbable when the France striker signed a new contract in May, having been urged to do so by no less an authority than France's president, Emmanuel Macron.
The 23-year-old turned his back on a possible free transfer to Real Madrid, but he has at times appeared unhappy this season, and now there are suggestions he would welcome a move away from PSG as soon as January.
Galtier has already scoffed at such talk, and he has claimed Mbappe's focus is where it should be, on delivering results for the French champions.
Those results have tailed off at an unfortunate time, with a pair of Champions League draws against Benfica coming either side of a 0-0 stalemate with Ligue 1 strugglers Reims.
Ahead of Sunday's Classique against Marseille, Galtier was asked how he coped with the incessant news cycle, the focus on the team, and situations such as that with Mbappe.
"You have to have experience and be a certain age to be able to manage these things," he said, before launching into a tirade about media coverage.
"What I'd like to say is you never speak about football. You ask me lots of questions. I'm not talking about you individually, but you, the media.
"I've been here many times as the Paris Saint-Germain coach and I have a feeling that match after match, press conference after press conference, we have to speak for 10 or 15 minutes and for maybe one minute about football. It is topics away from football.
"Whatever I say to you, you don't believe me, because you write the opposite and you say the opposite. Whether it is the written press, the radio, television, you say the opposite of what I say.
"So when I say that this [player] is well, they get on well, they are serious, they are professional, they have solidarity, it interests nobody. Other things are written.
"I am not here to comment on rumours. To answer your question about Kylian Mbappe, there is a rumour that came out before the game [against Benfica on Tuesday]. He had the best answer. He was named man of the match. He played well, he put in a great performance and showed solidarity.
"As for what is happening away from that, you have the right to talk about other things, but when you ask me questions I answer honestly. I have lots of faults, but I am very honest. When I say it, it is true. But when I say those things, nothing is written in the press, and you often see the opposite anyway.
"So to answer about Kylian Mbappe, have I spoken to him regarding the rumour, no.
"I am very proud to be the coach of Paris Saint-Germain and to be in charge of these players. Please, write that and let's talk about football."
Talking about football does not always make for comfortable reading either. Galtier has won just four of his 25 encounters as a coach against Marseille in Ligue 1 (D10 L11), a 16 per cent win-rate, and he only has a worse such ratio against Auxerre (D4 L1 in 5 games).
Previous clashes have been during his time in charge of Saint-Etienne, Lille and Nice, however.
As PSG boss, the expectations are different, and the leaders will be expected to get the better of a side who sit third heading into the weekend.
Galtier said PSG have been in a "very intense" spell of games, but he recognised the same applies for Marseille, who are also involved in the Champions League.
Sergio Ramos misses out through suspension this week after his red card against Reims, but Lionel Messi should be back from a calf injury.
Messi trained on Friday and barring any problems on Saturday he will be in Galtier's squad.
"It's the match that everyone looks forward to in the French league," said Galtier. "When I wasn't the Paris Saint-Germain coach, I was always excited to watch it. It is the Classique. Everybody is excited about it."
Galtier, who hails from Marseille, was adamant the vibe in the PSG dressing room is one of unity rather than division.
"Of course we don't all kiss each other every day, but things are going much better than elsewhere," he said.
"It is going much better than you might write or imagine. Kylian Mbappe is doing very well."
Bristol City Women 0-4 Man City Women: Hosts relegated as Fowler double inspires WSL leaders
Mary Fowler scored twice to set WSL leaders Manchester City on their way to a 4-0 rout of Bristol City, who suffered relegation as a result, on Sunday.
With Arsenal having drawn with Everton earlier in the day, Man City knew a victory would be enough to take the title race down to two teams.
That victory duly arrived in emphatic fashion, with all four of Man City's goals arriving in the second half.
Fowler's fantastic strike opened the scoring in the 62nd minute, with the Australia international doubling her tally soon after, paving the way for an Amy Rodgers own goal and Alex Greenwood's late header to seal a huge victory.
Arsenal are now out of the title race, with Chelsea - who have two games in hand on Gareth Taylor's team - the only side capable of catching Man City.
The Robins, meanwhile, will be playing in the second tier again next term.
Data Debrief: Bristol heading down with a whimper
Bristol City have failed to score in their last five games in the WSL, a run of 544 minutes without a goal.
They mustered just 0.09 expected goals (xG) to Man City's 3.4, with the visitors having now kept a clean sheet in nine of their 20 league games this season.
De Rossi demands more from 'tired' Roma ahead of crunch run
Daniele De Rossi acknowledged his Roma team may be tired, but he insisted they must not allow themselves to be embarrassed.
Roma fought back to draw 2-2 with last season's Serie A champions Napoli in a pulsating fixture on Sunday.
Tammy Abraham's late header secured a point for De Rossi's team, who took the lead through Paulo Dybala's penalty before going behind to goals from Matias Olivera and Victor Osimhen.
With Serie A set to have five teams in the Champions League next season, Roma occupy fifth spot with four matches remaining, but sixth-placed Atalanta are just two points behind with a game in hand.
There is also the small matter of a Europa League semi-final against Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen on the cards over the coming weeks, and De Rossi set the stall out.
"We drew, it is not a result to throw away, but it is not the result or the performance that we wanted," Roma coach Daniele De Rossi told Sky Sports Italia.
"At times you can steal the ball off Napoli, but we then gave it back again too many times. Napoli had a lot of chances in the first half, we did better in the second, but we have to do better.
"Look, we are tired, but we cannot start thinking that we’re tired and that means we can be embarrassed in the final few weeks of the season."
Roma host Leverkusen on Thursday before taking on Juventus on May 5, with a crunch clash against Atalanta – who are also into the Europa League semi-finals – set to follow after the away leg against Xabi Alonso's team.
Key to a successful end to the campaign for Roma will be keeping Dybala fit. The Argentine has been involved in the joint-most goals (12) in Serie A since the turn of the year, scoring nine and setting up three, level with Juve's Dusan Vlahovic.
PSG's latest Ligue 1 title arrives as Monaco lose to Lyon
Paris Saint-Germain have been crowned as Ligue 1 champions after Lyon overcame Monaco 3-2 on Sunday.
A 4-1 midweek win over Lorient ensured that one more victory would be enough for Luis Enrique's team to get over the line, but PSG failed to get the job done themselves when they faced relegation-threatened Le Havre on Saturday.
That game was the 700th match of the QSI era at PSG, and the club's 1,900th in France's top flight.
However, PSG's wait to win their third straight title did not last long, as less than 24 hours later, Lyon – who will face the Parisians in the final of the Coupe de France at the end of May – came out on top in a topsy turvy encounter with second-placed Monaco.
Substitute Malick Fofana was the matchwinner for Lyon, and ultimately the player who handed the title to PSG.
Wissam Ben Yedder had put Monaco ahead in the opening minute, but quickfire goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Said Benrahma turned the match on its head before half-time.
Ben Yedder netted his second to restore parity on the hour mark, and thought he had sealed his hat-trick when he volleyed in from a free-kick, only to have strayed offside.
With only a win good enough for Monaco to stay in the fight, the visitors were then caught out in the 84th minute, with Fofana racing onto Lacazette's throughball and finishing calmly.
After a dismal start to the season, relegation looked a real possibility for Lyon, but they are now, with three games remaining, still in with a shout of qualifying for Europe.
PSG on the other hand now have 12 Ligue 1 titles to their name, with 10 of those coming under QSI's ownership. Aside from the COVID-impacted 2019-20 season, five of their last six league titles have been secured before the start of May.
It also means Luis Enrique remains in the running for a treble in his first season at the club, with PSG taking on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-finals next week.
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