Former Ballon d’Or Winner Hits Back at Galtier Critics Following PSG’s Champions League Exit

Three-time Ballon d’Or winner Michel Platini is now the latest former player to come to the defense of Christophe Galtier following Paris Saint-Germain’s UEFA Champions League round of 16 exit against Bayern Munich.

PSG entered this season with high expectations to clinch a treble-winning campaign. Following PSG’s eliminations in the Champions League and Coupe de France competitions, the French side will now only be able to win Ligue 1 this season.

Galtier has garnered plenty of criticism for PSG’s recent sluggish play, but from Platini’s standpoint, he sees that the French manager has received too much blame for the club’s underperformances in the campaign.

“Galtier is a very good coach, he has had results everywhere he has been,” Platini said during a recent appearance on RMC Sport’s “Rothen s’enflamme” program. “I think he is respected by the players even if I am not in the dressing room. Anyway, the players always respect the coaches. … When PSG takes Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe, it is not to teach them to play.

“No coach teaches his footballers how to play. Let’s stop giving a lot of importance to the coach and putting all the responsibility on him when he loses. This is often the case. The coach is blamed because a player missed a goal.”

As mentioned, PSG will only feature in Ligue 1 fixtures for the remainder of the season. PSG will return to league play on Sunday with a home matchup against Rennes.