Neymar will find all the support he needs at Paris Saint-Germain after the Brazil superstar questioned his long-term future in football, head coach Mauricio Pochettino has promised.
In May, Neymar signed a new contract to stay with PSG until 2025, and this season he has been joined by Lionel Messi at the Parc des Princes.
Along with Kylian Mbappe, they could forge one of the great strike forces in the game, although at this stage the trio are still finding their way as a combination.
Despite the challenge of making such an exciting alliance work, Neymar has said he is unsure whether he has the "strength of mind to deal with football" much longer and would likely play his final World Cup in Qatar next year.
"Neymar is an honest person and a player who expresses his feelings quickly," PSG boss Pochettino told a news conference on Thursday.
"But I think his mental strength, considering he has been playing football since a very young age and has always had the media spotlight on him, I don't think there are any problems.
"Sometimes things are taken out of context, but I have no doubt he enjoys his football and I'm sure he will play for many years. I don't have any doubts about that."
Asked about mental health in football, in relation to Neymar's comments, Pochettino said: "This is something that exists in high-level sport. As the coaching staff it is our job to have certain tools in place to help our players.
"But I also don't like talking about this in such a surface-level way, because I think it is much more complicated than that. Certain things cannot be taken out of context and we can't simplify these situations, particularly ones that we are not going through ourselves.
"We are always very worried about our players' physical and mental well-being, so we are always available to help them."
Focusing on Neymar, Pochettino said: "His passion for football is on display with us every day so I have no doubts about that."
The former Barcelona forward has experienced a slow start to the campaign in terms of his productivity, scoring only once and having just two shots on target in his first seven club games of the season across all competitions.
Yet only Pele (77) has scored more goals for Brazil than Neymar (69), who has won the Confederations Cup (2013) with his country, along with an Olympic Games gold medal in 2016.
His suggestion that the 2022 World Cup may be his last also reflects that Neymar will be 34 by the time the 2026 tournament comes around.
It remains to be seen how PSG are as a force by then, but for now they are expected to win every game, which made the 2-0 loss to Rennes before the international break such a surprise.
That shock reverse followed on from a victory by the same scoreline against Manchester City in the Champions League, and Pochettino reflected on the Rennes game again on Thursday, choosing to describe it as "a slip-up".
On Friday, his team tackle Angers at the Parc des Princes, when they will be expected to get back on track, albeit hampered by absences caused by stars such as Neymar being on World Cup qualifying duty this week in South America.
PSG are unbeaten in their past 21 Ligue 1 games against Angers (W14 D7), which is their longest run without defeat against a single top-flight opponent.
After his Nations League efforts for France, PSG will hope to have a firing Mbappe on the pitch. The striker has failed to score in his previous four Ligue 1 games, his longest top-flight drought since March-May 2018 (six games). None of his past 17 shots in Ligue 1 has found the net.
Gauff continues serene French Open progress with last-16 win over Cocciaretto
Coca Gauff showed no signs of slowing down after easing into the French Open quarter-finals for a fourth consecutive year with a straight-sets victory over Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
Iga Swiatek blitzed past Anastasia Potapova in just over 40 minutes earlier on Sunday, and a wind-swept Court Philippe-Chatrier watched a similar demolition shortly after.
Gauff dropped just five points on service in a dominant first set, brushing the world number 51 to one side in a routine 25-minute opener.
Italy's Cocciaretto responded by holding her serve in the second set but had no match for the athletic Gauff, who secured another break early on to go 2-1 up.
The world number three resumed her usual domination from there on, with Cocciaretto struggling to thwart Gauff's resounding power and eventually falling to a 6-1 6-2 defeat in just over an hour.
Gauff, the US Open champion in 2023, is still yet to lose a set in Paris this year as she prepares for a last-eight meeting with Clara Tauson or Ons Jabuer.
Data Debrief: In-form Gauff on song
Cocciaretto had defeated 2023 French Open semi-finalist Beatriz Haddad Maia and big-hitting 17th-seed Liudmila Samsonova to reach this stage, with the 23-year-old impressing in the French capital.
Yet Gauff, three years younger than the Italian, could not be stopped on Philliper-Chatrier. She now has 19 wins at Roland-Garros, two more than Chris Evert managed before turning 21.
Ancelotti urges Kroos to reverse retirement decision after Champions League glory
Toni Kroos is set to leave Real Madrid as a six-time Champions League winner but Carlo Ancelotti wants the Los Blancos midfielder to reverse his retirement decision.
The Germany midfielder appears to have played the final club game of his career, signing off with European glory after a 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund in Saturday's final.
Kroos delivered a perfect corner-kick assist for Dani Carvajal's 74th-minute opener at Wembley Stadium before Vinicius Junior sealed Madrid's 15th crown in UEFA's top club competition.
The 34-year-old Kroos will head to Euro 2024 with Germany this month before calling time on his glittering career, though Ancelotti hopes he will change his mind.
"I'm really grateful to Kroos," Ancelotti said. "He finished at the very top, there is no way to finish higher than this.
"He had the boldness to finish it [his career] and he is a legend at this club.
"All the fans are grateful to him for his attitude, his professionalism. I've told him we are waiting for him to change his mind – we are waiting for you."
It was the sixth winning campaign for Madrid quadruple Kroos, Luka Modric, Dani Carvajal and Nacho in the Champions League.
Only Paco Gento (six) has won the European Cup/Champions League as many times among players in history.
This success will be further boosted by the expected arrival of Kylian Mbappe, who is reportedly set to join Madrid after announcing his intentions to leave Paris Saint-Germain.
Ancelotti says Los Blancos will look to new arrivals, as well as the current crop of Madrid stars, to combat Kroos' retirement.
"We have lost an important player, but we have players who can replace him and we will adapt and play a slightly different way," Ancelotti said.
"We have fantastic players and the resources to remain competitive."
Kroos' Germany face Ukraine and Greece in warm-up fixtures before opening their Euro 2024 campaign against Scotland on June 14.
Swiatek searching for French Open adaptation despite quarter-final progression
Iga Swiatek continues to dominate at the French Open, but the world number one is still learning to adapt to testing Roland-Garros conditions.
The four-time major winner coasted into the quarter-finals in Paris, hammering Anastasia Potapova 6-0 6-0 on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Swiatek is only the third player in the Open Era to claim 6-0 6-0 victories at Roland-Garros in consecutive years, after Gabriela Sabatini (1992-93) and Mary Pierce (1993-94)
The triumph against world number 41 Potapova lasted just over 40 minutes, with Swiatek completely "in the zone" but perplexed by challenging conditions in the French capital.
"It felt the same but I was really focused and in the zone," she said on court. "I wasn't looking at the score so I continued working on my game.
"It was pretty weird, because of the fact we played really early, we felt the temperature would be similar.
"It doesn't feel like summer in Europe. We'll see what the weather is going to be like. The forecast is not precise. We'll see and we're good at adjusting."
Swiatek remains on course for her third consecutive French Open title and fourth in five years.
She won 48 of 58 points on Sunday, and is the first woman to record victory in 18 straight matches at a major since Serena Williams won the 2014 US Open.
After taking the titles in Madrid and Rome, Swiatek also has 16 consecutive wins overall – yet she is still seeking improvements.
"I'll use my coach's experience," she added. "He's more confident than me with my strings.
"The wind bounces, I have got used to it. I have a person who was a sailor in my team so we're good with that."
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