Before Leipzig – PSG: But, by the way, what language does it speak in the PSG locker room?

It was an image that had made people talk, especially on the other side of the Pyrenees. A sign that Kylian Mbappé was ripe for the flight to Real Madrid, it was in Spanish that he had hooked up with Jordi Alba at Camp Nou last February. All in a flowery language, translating, casually, a real linguistic mastery of French crack. But where did the Parisian striker learn all this vocabulary? At school possibly. At Camp des Loges, more surely.

Because, now, in Saint-Germain-en-Laye and in the Parisian locker room, it is a collocation worthy of Erasmus that has been put in place. French, Brazilian, Argentinian, Dutch or Italian stars, eleven nationalities represented, a foreign coach and a question: how do they all manage to understand each other? In this Tower of Babel version 2021, you have to know how to adapt and switch easily between languages, at the risk of losing track.

To find their way around, some broadcasters had the right to a memo to know who to hold the microphone to on Champions League nights. Conclusion: a global locker room where six players, at least, can answer questions in three different languages. In detail, here is what it gives to Paris:

• 14 speak french
• 10 speak spanish
• 8 speak english
• 5 speak Italian
• 4 speak Portuguese
• 2 speak german

Pochettino, talks in Spanish or English

Franco-Spanish domination confirmed by Robbie Thomson, journalist for PSGTV, privileged witness of Parisian training. “When I arrived in 2013, with Laurent Blanc, it was French and Italian that dominated, he explains. There was a strong Italian influence at the time with Ancelotti just before, with Thiago Silva, Zlatan, Motta, Verratti, Lavezzi, Pastore. But, I would say that it changed from 2015. The Spanish had a stronger influence. I remember asking Blaise Matuidi at the time what was the most used word in the locker room and he replied ‘Vamos!’ “.

Since then, the trend has only intensified. Neymar, Yuri Berchiche, Dani Alves, Leandro Paredes, Juan Bernat, Pablo Sarabia, Keylor Navas, Ander Herrera, Mauro Icardi, Sergio Rico, Rafinha took part in this moult before the arrivals of Sergio Ramos, Lionel Messi or Achraf Hakimi did definitely tip the balance in the favor of Spanish speakers. And it is not the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino, and his staff, however partly French-speaking, which rebalanced everything.

The Parisian coach continues to speak in Spanish at a press conference out of caution. History to be well understood and to avoid repetitions of misinterpreted words. Obviously, in front of his players, the situation is similar. His talks are thus conducted mainly in Spanish or English. And if translations have to be done, it’s his assistant Miguel d’Agostino who sticks to them.

“Neymar and Di Maria speak very good French”

In this happy mess, adaptation is a key word and Marquinhos, the captain, has to juggle several languages. Sometimes, we hear him talking in Brazilian with Neymar. “But behind, they can both go and speak in Spanish with Messi or ‘Marqui’ can laugh with Marco in Italian.“, smiles Robbie Thomson.

On the other hand, when the time comes to reassemble the straps, it is in French that the Parisian captain speaks. And, we promise, it is understood by all. “Neymar and Di Maria, we have often heard that they do not speak a word of French, says the journalist from PSGTV. This is wrong, they speak French very well. It’s just that they don’t speak it in front of the cameras“. So, the time of a David Luiz who let go of all smiles in 2015 as his”team does not speak French“seems to be over, even if the latest arrivals are still in the process of adaptation, Messi in the first place.

In this ecosystem, you have to know how to make your place. “Colin Dagba, for example, will be forced to speak a few other languages, he still believes. For example, you know you shouldn’t bother Zlatan, so at best you try to understand him a little bit. And if you need to, you can ask Marquinhos for a more kindly deposit because he has a different character. So it’s not just languages“Although that seems to help a bit.

The two French holders of the PSG thus have real aptitudes in the exercise. “Mbappé, the guy is almost trilingual, continue Robbie Thomson. Presnel too. Naturally, he learns languages ​​very quickly and I know he speaks English very, very well. And a priori, I heard that he learns Portuguese and Spanish a little on the job, like that in the field“.

False clans and true friendships

So, some like Mbappé or Draxler, by their ability to communicate with everyone, and in almost any language, can move from one group to another. “When you see the bulls in training it’s often the South Americans and Kylian in a group, maybe with ‘Drax’ too, details the journalist from PSGTV. And, next, you have the young French people with Presnel, Gueye etc… “.

However, do not believe that everything is frozen in clans. Because if the Messi-Di Maria or Messi-Neymar friendships flow naturally, if the Mbappé-Hakimi bromance is more and more visible, others are more wacky. “There are friendships that you don’t necessarily see but ‘Ney’ and Thilo Kehrer, for example, get along very well., explains Robbie Thomson. ‘Drax’ and ‘Presko’ have been friends since day one, or almost“Proof that at PSG, the most important thing is above all to speak the universal language of football well.