I´m not his father – Tuchel unaware of Neymar´s Turin trip

Paris Saint-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel claims to be unaware and unconcerned about reports Neymar made a swift trip to Turin two days out from the Coupe de France final.

According to reports in Italy, Brazil star Neymar ventured out of Paris to attend an event alongside compatriot and Juventus winger Douglas Costa.

The 27-year-old’s apparent journey abroad came less than a week after returning from a three-month injury lay-off in last weekend’s Ligue 1 victory against Monaco.

His appearance off the bench could pave the way for a start against Rennes at Stade de France on Saturday, with Tuchel dismissing responsibility for Neymar’s pre-match movements.

“I do not know about it,” Tuchel told reporters on Friday.

“I’m not his father, not the police, not a detective.

“I’m the head coach and he was at training yesterday and with us today. That’s it.”

#SRFCPSG

The road to Saturday’s @coupedefrance final… 

 #ICICESTPARIS pic.twitter.com/ZqN5MOhd6t

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) April 24, 2019

Neymar’s involvement in the 3-1 win over Monaco coincided with Edinson Cavani’s return from a hip problem as Tuchel welcomed back the remaining two thirds of his star-studded front three.

Kylian Mbappe, a pivotal figure in their absences, stole the limelight with a hat-trick that improved his Ligue 1 tally to 30 goals for the season, becoming the youngest player to reach the mark.

“He’s been a reliable player, a decisive player,” Tuchel said of the 20-year-old France international.

“His status is growing, he’s getting more important, but I think he enjoys it and he’s ready for it.

“We are not talking theoretically here. Everything happened naturally. He took on more responsibilities.

2 – French players with at least 30 goals in a single Ligue 1 season over the last 50 years:

 Jean-Pierre Papin in 1989/90 (30 goals)

 Kylian Mbappé in 2018/19 (30 goals)

Vertiginous. pic.twitter.com/33yWxsAdKq

— OptaJean (@OptaJean) April 22, 2019

“I have several key players in my team and it’s always a team effort as we demonstrated during important games this season.

“We have to showcase once again tomorrow for 90 or 120 minutes that we can play together, defend together, but Kylian has done really well and he’s extraordinary, that’s for sure.”