Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Celt not in awe of playing PSG
OLIVIER Ntcham i nsists money will mean nothing when Celtic face bigspending Paris St Germain in their Champions League opener at Parkhead.
The French side broke the world transfer record in August when they signed Brazil forward Neymar from Barcelona for £200.6 million.
Eighteen-year-old striker Kylian Mbappe later joined on a season-long loan from Monaco — PSG can make the deal permanent next summer for £166m.
Both players j oined a multi-talented squad which already included the likes of Edinson Cavani, Marco Verratti and Julian Draxler.
However, 21-year-old French midfielder Ntcham, who grew up as a PSG fan, is adamant the Scottish champions will not be fazed by tonight’s visitors.
He said: “I will be delighted to play against PSG.
“They have a great group of players and it doesn’t matter how much they have spent as all players are equal.
“It doesn’t matter how much money you cost as on the pitch everyone has two feet and two hands when we play.
“They are an exceptional bunch of players but we need to exploit the ball well once we get hold of it.
“Being more aggressive and playing our own game is the key towards winning.”
Ntcham is relishing the prospect of facing his boyhood heroes.
He said: “I am very excited to play against Paris St Germain because previously I was a supporter of Paris and, for me, to play against them is not a dream but it’s close to it.
“For my friends and family it’s like a dream as everyone would watch them on TV and, although they have spent money, once we are on the pitch, we are all the same and I have to play my game.”