On March 9, Paris Saint-Germain experienced a new big disappointment in its sporting history. Winner in the first leg on the score of 1 goal to 0, PSG was finally forced to stop in the knockout stages of the Champions League after its heavy defeat in the return against Real Madrid (3-1). Led at the break on a goal from Kylian Mbappé, the people of Madrid had reversed the situation thanks to a hat-trick from Karim Benzema. The French international thus allowed his club to qualify for the quarter-finals of the competition.
A disappointment which caused a new trauma in the minds of Paris, those who had suffered a memorable “rise” against FC Barcelona in March 2017. Among the Parisian players on the front line of this umpteenth failure, a certain Neymar. Injured for many weeks in an ankle, he had nevertheless tried to be present for this crucial match. During an event organized by his equipment supplier Puma, the 30-year-old prodigy came back to this poor performance: “I gave my life my life to heal and come back to face Real Madrid. Even if it was to lose, I wanted to be there with my teammates.”he blurted out.
Words that irritated some to the highest degree as the war in Ukraine entered its 25th day on Sunday. This is particularly the case of the sports journalist of RMC, Christophe Cessieux. “He gave his life? I find it a bit outrageous, especially with what is happening at the moment. Today, you have athletes who really give their lives for their country. It’s a bit exaggerated. He could have said that he had done everything to come back”he deeply lamented.