Hugo Ekitike did not have the debut he hoped for at PSG. Certainly, the competition in his position was bound to deprive him of a starting place immediately after his arrival on loan, however, the Frenchman expected more. Enough to lead to a big discussion with Christophe Galtier in training, Ekitike opened up on the subject.
Recruited from Stadium of Reims last July, Hugo Ekitike landed at PSG in the same way as Kylian Mbappe in the summer of 2017. Indeed, the French striker was able to arrive in Paris on a season-long loan with a mandatory purchase option. But opposed to his four years older Kylian Mbappe, Ekitike did not immediately make a place for himself as a starter PSGquite the contrary.
Ekitike lets go of his truths about Galtier’s speech regarding his playing time
Competing against three of the best players in the world, namely Mbappé, Lionel Messi and Neymar, Hugo Ekitike had to fret for much of the first half of the season, letting his frustration explode on social media and even during some training sessions. Moreover, a discussion between his trainer Christophe Galtier and himself would have taken place.
PSG: Galtier makes a huge decision with Mbappé, he justifies himself https://t.co/ATqqgi2fIV pic.twitter.com/CmRNgUNOVj
— 24hfootnews (@24hfootnews) December 28, 2022
“It was not a speech to tell me: ‘you don’t work'”
An exchange that reached the ears ofOlivier Tallaron. Enough to allow the journalist to Canal+ to question Hugo Ekitike on the subject during an interview for the channel, broadcast before the meeting between the PSG to Strasbourg this Wednesday evening. Here is the French striker’s response. “It wasn’t a speech to tell me: ‘you don’t work.’ It was above all a speech to tell me that when a player is not playing… Training is like a match. At that time, I had to take the training to work more, more than the others. This is the message he wanted to convey. It’s also part of a footballer’s life sometimes, when you don’t play and you don’t necessarily understand, sometimes you’re a little frustrated. It’s part of a career I think. There is the coach, but I also have players around me who gave me a lot of advice and spoke to me.