Neymar has been assured he has a big part to play at Paris Saint-Germain under Christophe Galtier, but the new coach warned there will be action taken against any dissenters.
There have been recent speculations about Neymar’s future at PSG, and the French club are reportedly open to selling him if there is a legitimate bid.
Chelsea have been linked with a move for the Brazilian, who claimed the French giants a record-breaking fee when he arrived in 2017 from Barcelona.
Galtier was confirmed as the new coach at Parc des Princes on Tuesday, taking over from Mauricio Pochettino.
It would have been inevitable that Galtier could be questioned about his plans for Neymar, given the 30-year-old, and the former Nice and Lille boss made it clear he could be important to the club’s future.
“What coach would not want to have a player like him on his team?” Galtier said: “I have a very positive view of what I would expect from Neymar.
“I’ll meet him, listen to him, but I want him to stay. For us, it’s always better to have a player of that level with us.”
Neymar played 22 games in Ligue 1 last season, scoring 13 goals and adding six assistants. He has played a number of games in the league’s 38-game campaign since joining PSG.
Galtier said he wanted his team to have players “who want to win, who want success and who want to enjoy football”.
“I’m not going to make a change in the dressing room,” she said. “I’m here to listen and I know I have the support of everyone, from the board, to make decisions, and if there is a player, whoever it is, who doesn’t buy the job will be dealt with.”
Galtier, who is an impressive Ligue 1 champion with Lille in 2020-21, is taking a step forward by joining a team where expectations are expected to secure local domination.
PSG are desperate to add to the UEFA Champions League title, and a failure in Europe could see Galtier come under pressure.
He has players like Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Neymar, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Marquinhos and Marco Verratti who he has in a star-studded team.
Sergio Ramos, a veteran Real Madrid captain, will also be hoping to get more involved in his second season at PSG after the first disrupted campaign.
Galtier, who said he would take a “different approach” to his familiar football style because of the strength of his team, emphasizes that there must be unity in the team.
“It is a privilege to have a team with world-class players,” he said. “First of all, it’s about talking to them, and there will be no compromise about our strengths as a team and the goals we have set. We must have the same work without compromising.”
