Paris (AFP)

Quiet luxury residences, typical restaurants of their country and nightclubs to meet with teammates: from Yvelines to the "Golden Triangle" of western Paris, the stars of Paris SG have appropriated the capital, which they hope to shine in the Champions League.

Arriving at a new club means moving in. This is how many players found themselves in Neuilly-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine) on the advice of Zoumana Camara, historic defender of PSG (2007-2015) who became assistant coaches who have since followed one another on the bench (Laurent Blanc, Unai Emery and Thomas Tuchel).

Over the years, the recruits of the Qatari version of the PSG followed him, conquered by this "very beautiful city, very calm, with a lot of green spaces", as described in the daily Le Parisien Javier Pastore, at the club of 2011 to 2018.

The top scorer in club history Edinson Cavani also lived there. The town attracts less lately, but Marco Verratti still keeps company there with "Papus" Camara.

The 16th arrondissement of Paris, that of the Parc des Princes, is obviously also very popular with the club's players. Like Kylian Mbappé, who chose a huge apartment with a view of the Eiffel Tower.

Less known but just as popular: Bougival in the Yvelines. On his arrival in 2017, Neymar had opted for this quiet town of 9,000 souls, located less than ten kilometers from Camp des Loges, PSG training center.

- Neymar "in self-sufficiency" in Bougival -

The Brazilian joined his teammate Layvin Kurzawa there, and imitated the former Parisian glories Ronaldinho and Pedro Miguel Pauleta, former residents of the town.

The house of "Ney", five floors, 1,000 m2 of living space, indoor swimming pool and 5,000 m2 of land, is a haven of peace. Surrounded by two departmental streets abandoned by pedestrians, surrounded by luxury houses and others more modest, the villa is discreet to say the least.

For Louis Claude, real estate agent in Bougival specializing in luxury goods, "Neymar found what he was looking for, to be out of sight".

If Bougival is one of these easy towns without ostentation in the west of Paris, the Brazilian star does not mix, on the other hand, with his fellow citizens.

"We hardly see him, except when he leaves his home in his car with the tinted windows", assures AFP the mayor Luc Wattelle (various right), who regrets that the player does not participate more in the life of the village, in particular "with the young people of the football club".

The rare local residents crossed around Neymar's house confirm this: either they have never seen him, or they simply do not know who he is.

“When Gérard Depardieu lived there, everyone had had at least one drink with him,” smiles Louis Claude. Neymar, him, "lives in self-sufficiency in his property", with his close entourage, explains Luc Wattelle.

- Shopping and good restaurants -

And, if he lives in Bougival, Neymar goes out especially in a few privileged places, mainly in the upscale neighborhoods of western Paris, where his entourage and his teammates enjoy shopping on Avenue Montaigne and going out to nightclubs in L ' Arc, Place de l'Etoile.

On the restaurant side, the players have found their addresses. The Volver, with its menu of Argentinian specialties, is popular with the club's many South Americans. Kylian Mbappé and the Brazilians favor Le César near the Champs-Elysées, without forgetting the Giusé, owned by ... Marco Verratti.

Is this Parisian "dolce vita" suitable for players? "It's a very important city in the world, historic. Everyone comes to Paris to know it. We have the opportunity to live here, to work here. It touches me a lot", confides to AFP Thiago Silva, captain of PSG.

"I even became Parisian and French (naturalized in March 2019, Editor's note). For my family, it's something very important," adds the Brazilian international who hopes to "enjoy the city until the last day" of his contract, which ends at the end of August.

Yet during confinement, after a few days of going around in circles in the capital, Juan Bernat joined Spain, Neymar Brazil, while goalkeeper Keylor Navas spent 200,000 euros to return with his family to Costa Rica in a private jet. Like homesickness that would be felt in a crisis.

© 2020 AFP