Pauleta hails PSG’s Portuguese contingent, including ‘their key man’

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·18 aprile 2026

Pauleta hails PSG’s Portuguese contingent, including ‘their key man’

Pedro Miguel Pauleta, the former prolific Portugal striker who notably played for Paris Saint-Germain (2003–2008), spoke in an interview with Ici Paris that was aired this Friday evening. The former Paris captain was notably asked about the supporters’ special affection for his fellow Portuguese players at PSG: Nuno Mendes (23-year-old left-back), João Neves (21-year-old midfielder), Vitinha (26-year-old midfielder) and Gonçalo Ramos (24-year-old striker).

Pauleta: “As people and professionals, they are top class.”

You know why? They are good players who have respected the club since they arrived. I know these four players well; I was academy director with the national team setup and I saw them coming through at 15, 16, 17, 18 years old, all the way to the Under-21s. We’re not going to talk about the players, but as people and professionals, they are top class. The four of them are not stars, but they love football and enjoy playing it with enormous quality. That is why they are loved and will be loved by any coach and supporters. They know they are always there as great professionals. The others are too, but we are talking about four Portuguese players.

“That is the work of the club, the sporting director and the coach.”

Before, people used to say to us, ‘two or three Brazilians is already too many.’ But it is true that it is not normal to have four players from the same country with this level of quality. When you have a player like Gonçalo Ramos who plays 10, 15, 20 minutes with the level he shows, his smile, his work, every time he comes onto the pitch. It’s 10 minutes, 5 minutes, sometimes he does not even come on, and despite that he still works. For a coach, and Luis Enrique said it last week, that is incredible — he is the most important player in the team. He is a great player, always happy and ready to help the team, always with team spirit, and that is the work of the club, the sporting director and the coach.”

Indeed, this Portuguese group at PSG has managed to win the affection of the supporters, the media, the management and the Paris staff. There are, of course, all their qualities as players. They belong at the highest level and have proved it time and again. Nuno Mendes, Neves and Vitinha in particular have regularly been impressive in the Champions League.

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All of that comes with a certain simplicity and humility. There is no question of seeing themselves as better than others, creating problems or forgetting the collective. They simply want to make the most of playing football and helping the team. A superb mentality perfectly put in place by the club and its coach Luis Enrique. It also comes down to recruitment, with discussions before signing that are essential. That is a point often forgotten by supporters when they start making recommendations for the transfer window. It is an essential step in building such a group.

There is even a Ramos who is always ready to fight for the team, without complaining despite playing time that can understandably be frustrating. The Portuguese striker is always ready and has been decisive several times in important moments. We still hope he can take a step forward in terms of starts; it would be a fine reward for his attitude. And he has the qualities — now it is about managing to express them fully and consistently in this team.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.