Established only once since the start of the season after being invited to leave PSG last summer, Milan Skriniar returned to his status as a club replacement on the sidelines of the gathering of the Slovak selection, of which he remains a leader .
Appearing 32 times in the PSG jersey last season, Milan Skriniar has only started one match since the start of the 2024/2025 financial year. It was against Brest on September 14, at the end of the international break. On the sidelines of Slovakia’s match against Sweden this Friday in the Nations League, the 29-year-old central defender was questioned by his country’s media about his complicated situation at PSG.
“I have to be ready when needed”
“Mentally, I’m fine, he assured at a press conference. I’m not happy with this situation, but the only thing I can control is my work in training. I have to be ready when needed. I try to be in the best shape possible. »
Behind Marquinhos, Willian Pacho and Lucas Beraldo in the hierarchy of central defenders, has Skriniar spoken about his downgrade with Luis Enrique? “No, coach doesn’t discuss things like that. I would be happy if I had more opportunities. I respect his decisions, he is the one who decides the composition of the team. I can’t influence him. »
Skriniar could have been loaned last summer
Authorized to leave the club last summer, Skriniar admitted to having had several opportunities, but ultimately did not find a buyer, his Parisian salary posing a problem for many clubs. The former captain of Inter Milan was, for example, announced at the end of the transfer window close to the Saudi club Al-Nassr, which ultimately invested 35 million euros in French defender Mohamed Simakan.
“There were many options. They informed me that I will not be used as much as last season. It was at the end of the transfer window, so it was mainly for loans. But I was not in the final phase of negotiations with clubs. Finally, in a meeting with the club management and the coach, we agreed that it was better for me to stay and fight for my chance. »
“I see in training that I can compete with my teammates”
For the moment, Skriniar has only started once against Brest and also played 21 minutes against Rennes on September 27. “I am happy to be in Paris, but I regret not having more minutes, he conceded. I see in training that I can compete with my teammates in terms of quality. We have a great group and I encourage them. I had my chance, I took it, like the coach said. »
After his 90 minutes played against Brest, Skriniar was indeed praised by Luis Enrique at a press conference: “For me, in his position as central defender, Milan displayed a very high level,” confided the Spaniard. I am very happy to see his qualities and his level of football because he is captain of his selection with very high level experience. Today he played exactly the way we wanted him to. He was very strong in all the duels, he played very well and he gave us the first superiority. It’s a 10/10 for Milan today. »
Praises which were not followed by another start for Skriniar, who nevertheless remains optimistic for the rest of his Parisian season: “I’ve been in this situation before and have always come out of it successfully. I think this will still be the case today. »
