The Asian Age

Tuchel goes slow on star Neymar

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Singapore, July Paris Saint- Germain coach Thomas Tuchel pledged to keep his conversati­ons with Neymar behind closed doors on Sunday as he weighs up how best to deal with the combustibl­e star.

Neymar, the world’s most expensive player, was widely lampooned for his playacting at the World Cup, but Tuchel refused to reveal if he would raise it with the Brazilian.

“I’m young — well, not so young — but I know when I speak about Neymar there’s a lot of potential to every word that I say,” said the 44- year- old German.

“So the best thing when I speak to him about something that we do this in closed rooms.”

Tuchel’s arrival follows reports of between Neymar forwards 29: at PSG discord and fellow Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani, as well as ex- coach Unai Emery.

Tuchel said he needed a close relationsh­ip with Neymar, whose difficult World Cup ended when Brazil were stunned by Belgium in the quarterfin­als.

“I’m very sure that I have a connection with him and I’m very sure that I need to have a connection with these kinds of players,” Tuchel said.

“He’s an outstandin­g player. He knows how to handle big victories, he also knows how to handle defeats, because that’s the way sport is.

“It’s always a big challenge to bounce back and I will help him with that. ( But) what I talk about with him, when I talk with him, it’s a secret that I keep.”

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