David Fioux has worked for the French daily sports newspaper “L’Equipe” for over 15 years. The chief reporter has already reported on world and European championships. For SPORT BILD he exclusively explains the difficult situation of national player Julian Draxler at PSG.
For PSG it was a luxury tour in Japan, with a few friendlies but also with business appointments and holiday activities. Neymar (30) and Gianluigi Donnarumma (23) tasted sushi and played famous arcade games in Tokyo. A total of 130 people took part in the journey from Paris to Japan last week. But Julian Draxler (28) was not one of them.
However, the German world champion of 2014 was not injured. He can walk without pain and he has done so while his teammates were having fun some 10,000 kilometers away. But: This has to happen in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Only the PSG training center is his place of work this summer.
The German national player is currently not allowed to play with Kylian Mbappé and other stars of the club. His new partners are guys from the youth academy and a few other professionals who have also been sorted out. Because: Layvin Kurzawa, Georginio Wijnaldum, Ander Herrera and Rafinha are just as “unwelcome” at PSG.
All of these players are renowned and have had great success. But they have another thing in common: Paris is determined to sell them. The squad has grown too big and the French champions have a new boss in sporting director Luis Campos. The plan is to get rid of a total of eleven players.
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Source: ZDF
The blow is all the harder for Draxler because a year ago he extended his contract until 2024. And: He definitely needs match practice in order to be nominated by Hansi Flick for the World Cup in Qatar.
There have been transfer rumors from Newcastle this summer. But the attacking midfielder has been based in Paris for five and a half years and leaving would have major personal implications. His girlfriend, a professional dancer, is pregnant and the couple are due to have a boy in September.
That would be exactly the time until which he should train away from the other stars. In France, clubs are allowed to form separate training groups during the transfer period. After that, Draxler might be able to meet Mbappé again on the training ground.
