Showtime for Jullien in a city he just adores
JUST like Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, Christopher Jullien and wife Charlotte will always have Paris. Celtic’s towering defender met his future spouse in the French capital when she was working as a dancer in the city’s famous Moulin Rouge.
But tonight it is the former Toulouse centre-half’s turn to be part of a big performance in the City of Love as the Scottish champions take on the multimillionaire superstars of Paris Saint-Germain in a glamour friendly at the Parc des Princes.
‘We are involved in a different kind of show,’ said Jullien. ‘It is always a big stage when you play against PSG.
‘Whenever I came here as a Toulouse player it was prime time because they have so many stars.
‘It will be great for us to be on the pitch with them. I would say PSG are among the top five teams in the world right now.
‘When they have their strongest XI out, they are maybe even the best in the world.
‘It will be really tough but it will be a good test for us in terms of the level we are at.
‘It’s great to be back home again but it is funny seeing all the guys taking pictures of the Eiffel Tower when I am so used to seeing it.
‘There’s a lot of my friends and family who are going to come along to the PSG match.
‘It’s been a long time since they watched me playing in France and I hope they enjoy it.’
The £7million defender will be hoping not to be led a merry dance by Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, and Mauro Icardi.
However, having played in Neymar’s debut against Toulouse in August 2017, when the Brazilian scored two and created a brace in a 6-2 win, he knows that’s easier said than done.
‘How do you stop these guys? You can’t,’ admitted Jullien.
‘Especially Neymar, as he is so versatile. He appears everywhere.
He can attack from either side of the pitch and that makes it difficult for midfielders and defenders.
‘He is so dangerous if he finds some space, so we have to close the gaps as much as we can. It will be difficult, though.
‘When I played against PSG with Toulouse the games were pretty close — apart from Neymar’s first game.
‘He was just something else that day. You could see he wanted to show the city of Paris what he can do. He was just better than us by far.
‘I was proud to win a couple of games against PSG in my time in French football but even in those games it was far from easy. It was pressure for 90 minutes.
‘But you can enjoy dealing with pressure, like last season when we played Lazio and the Betfred Cup final (against Rangers).
‘There was a lot of defending in those games — but I still managed to score a couple of goals.’
Meanwhile, Jullien says it has been a proud and important moment helping Black Lives Matter.
The Parkhead club has got firmly behind the global movement in the wake of the death of George Floyd in America with players taking the knee before friendly matches out here against Nice and Lyon.
Jullien said: ‘The Black Lives Matter movement is happening all over the world. We spoke as players and as staff before the games and said were going to be part of it.
‘We wanted to show we are against racism and show we are behind this issue.
‘It was a proud moment for me to do that alongside my team-mates and staff.
‘It’s such an important issue. It’s about educating people all around the world and highlighting the situation.
‘If by doing this we can make people understand then maybe it can make a difference eventually.’