Koeman and Alba answer important questions about the Barcelona-Paris Saint-Germain match

Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman considered that the direct confrontation between Lionel Messi and Frenchman Kylian Mbappe in the UEFA Champions League football would be "a pleasure worth watching", in a match that would be "close" despite injuries when the Catalan club hosts Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday (23:00) Emirates time).

Here are the most prominent impressions of Koeman and defender Jordi Alba about the first leg of the quarter-finals during the Barcelona press conference on Monday.

Messi in Saint-Germain?

- Barcelona defender Jordi Alba: “Even if it is clear to me (Messi's future), I will not tell you frankly. Leo said that, he wants to have a great season with Barcelona. Is the so much talk about him in Paris Saint-Germain a lack of respect? Frankly, we do not lend him to Attention to that in the dressing room. People talk about it a lot, but Leo will have the last word when he wants. He will look carefully at the decision that he will make, and he will choose what he thinks is best for him. With Leo, we are much stronger and better. So we hope that he will stay in Barcelona for years. Many others, but we have to respect the decision he makes. "

- Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman: “It is a confrontation between two teams. One of them plays Messi, the best player in the world which we need at his best levels to win. On the other hand, it is almost the same for Paris Saint-Germain who has a very fast player who can complicate things for us. But it will be an interesting match. For any football fan, these two players are a joy to watch. "

Neymar's absence

- Alba: “Yes, I will not lie to you. I personally think that it is better for us not to have players like + Nai + play against us. It is an important absence for them, as is the absence of (Argentine Angel) Di Maria, who is also a very big player. But Saint-Germain has him. Other players of similar level. It will be a close match, and it will be decided by small details. "

- Coman: "For me, to see the best match, the best players have to play. We never know what a team suffering from the absence of a player as important as Neymar will react. I hope all players will be available within weeks to see who is really the best (...) Di Maria and Neymar are two very important players for Paris, like Ansu Fati, Sergi Roberto and (Brazilian) Philippe Coutinho for us. "

Do you share Pique?

- Alba: "He is an essential part of our team. He is also a player who helps create a fun atmosphere in the locker room apart from football. The decision whether or not to return to the competition is up to the coach. But we also have other important players, of course they have less experience than Gerard (Pique), but they've been doing very well lately. "

- Coman: “Pique has been training with the group for nearly four or five days. We seem relaxed about his physical condition, but I still have a day to make a decision (whether or not he will play) .. (French Samuel) Umtiti and (Clément) have made matches for Anglet. Very good, and we can also count on them. They made mistakes, this is part of football ... If we want to control tactically as we like, we need our defense to reduce their individual risk in the front. (Uruguayan Ronald) Araujo has not trained and will not be available ".

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