MNM Trio Will Need to Accept Sitting on the Bench, Says PSG Coach

Football - Ligue 1 - Nantes v Paris St Germain - The Stade de la Beaujoire - Louis Fonteneau, Nantes, France - September 3, 2022 Paris St Germain's Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring their first goal. (Reuters)
Football - Ligue 1 - Nantes v Paris St Germain - The Stade de la Beaujoire - Louis Fonteneau, Nantes, France - September 3, 2022 Paris St Germain's Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring their first goal. (Reuters)
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MNM Trio Will Need to Accept Sitting on the Bench, Says PSG Coach

Football - Ligue 1 - Nantes v Paris St Germain - The Stade de la Beaujoire - Louis Fonteneau, Nantes, France - September 3, 2022 Paris St Germain's Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring their first goal. (Reuters)
Football - Ligue 1 - Nantes v Paris St Germain - The Stade de la Beaujoire - Louis Fonteneau, Nantes, France - September 3, 2022 Paris St Germain's Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring their first goal. (Reuters)

Paris St Germain will need all their resources if they are to shine on all fronts this season, and it means that their formidable "MNM" attacking trio will need to take a break at times, whether they like it or not.

While Mauricio Pochettino would rarely replace Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe or Neymar, his successor Christophe Galtier has not hesitated to put the Brazilian on the bench on Saturday, three days before their Champions League opener against Juventus.

Neymar came on around the hour mark but it was Mbappe who made way for his fellow forward in their 3-0 win at Nantes and the France player did not show any sign of frustration.

Messi is the one who played the most among the three, although he was also recalled to the bench in the closing stages against Monaco and Toulouse.

Galtier, who took over this season, had warned that the team would come first, and he has been true to his word as PSG scored a record 24 goals in their opening six league matches.

"I talked about it twice - once with each of them and once with the whole squad, to tell them that this is how it was going to be and that we had to have the right attitude and accept it," said Galtier.

With a packed schedule with the World Cup looming in the European autumn, Galtier said there was little choice.

"You say it's new, but it's an obligation for everyone because of the very busy schedule," he explained.

"We play a lot, every three days, then every four days, then there is the World Cup. Everyone has to understand that they won't be able to play all the games."

Center back Sergio Ramos was also given a relative rest against Nantes, only coming on in the 62nd minute.

"Everyone has to be ready to play. The most important thing is the team. We have quality in both the starters and the substitutes," said center back Presnel Kimpembe.

"We have a good group. Everyone knows that. We take advantage of each other to be as good as possible."



A Doctor Testifies That Maradona Should Have Been Admitted to a Clinic Instead of Being Sent Home 

Veronica Ojeda (C), ex-wife of Diego Maradona and mother of Diego Fernando Maradona, arrives to attend the trial for Maradona's death at San Isidro court, in San Isidro, Buenos Aires province, Argentina on April 3, 2025. (AFP)
Veronica Ojeda (C), ex-wife of Diego Maradona and mother of Diego Fernando Maradona, arrives to attend the trial for Maradona's death at San Isidro court, in San Isidro, Buenos Aires province, Argentina on April 3, 2025. (AFP)
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A Doctor Testifies That Maradona Should Have Been Admitted to a Clinic Instead of Being Sent Home 

Veronica Ojeda (C), ex-wife of Diego Maradona and mother of Diego Fernando Maradona, arrives to attend the trial for Maradona's death at San Isidro court, in San Isidro, Buenos Aires province, Argentina on April 3, 2025. (AFP)
Veronica Ojeda (C), ex-wife of Diego Maradona and mother of Diego Fernando Maradona, arrives to attend the trial for Maradona's death at San Isidro court, in San Isidro, Buenos Aires province, Argentina on April 3, 2025. (AFP)

Diego Maradona's ex-wife and a doctor testified Tuesday at the trial of seven medical professionals accused of negligence in the death of the soccer great, questioning the decision to take him home following surgery in 2020 rather than admitting him to a rehabilitation center.

Maradona, who led Argentina to the World Cup title in 1986, died on Nov. 25, 2020 while undergoing home hospitalization on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. He was 60.

“He should have gone to a rehabilitation clinic ... a more protected place for him,” Mario Alejandro Schiter, who treated Maradona for two decades, told the court.

“Knowing the patient, I would not have suggested home hospitalization; he was not easy to manage, given my direct knowledge of having treated him at the worst moment of his life,” added Schiter, who treated Maradona for a drug addiction.

According to the prosecution, the seven professionals charged in the negligence case — a neurosurgeon, a psychiatrist, a psychologist, doctors, and nurses — failed to provide adequate care, which may have led to his death.

“They lied to all of us, to all the family, it is a shame,” said Veronica Ojeda, who was married to Maradona from 2005 to 2014.

Ojeda said doctors advised the family to move Maradona out of the hospital and that is why they did it, although “the house was not ready for it.”

She said she was assured that Maradona was going to be taken care of but has now questioned the level of care.

“Diego was alone, nobody was there, just the bodyguard,” added Ojeda, who said she visited Maradona three times, including a time seven days before his death.

Schiter said he was a consultant and that he had no decision-making authority, and that the clinic’s directors ultimately “came and told me they opted for home hospitalization.”

According to some witnesses at the trial, the home where Maradona was taken lacked the necessary medical equipment.

Schiter, who also observed the autopsy on Maradona’s body, said “all the evidence suggests that there was a failure to provide modifiable care, which led to heart failure.”