PSG accused of holding Adrien Rabiot “hostage” amid Liverpool & Arsenal links
The mother of French midfielder Adrien Rabiot, Veronique Rabiot, has lashed out at Paris Saint-Germain’s treatment of her son, claiming they’re treating him like a ‘prisoner’.
Rabiot has not been allowed to train with the first team and hasn’t played for the club since December 11 following his refusal to sign a contract extension.
Why have PSG exiled Rabiot? Five key things to know…
- Rabiot, 23, has made 227 senior appearances for PSG since graduating from their academy in 2012.
- However, his contract is due to expire at the end of the season and Rabiot has refused to sign a new deal.
- This has seen him excluded from first-team training while he hasn’t played since December 2018.
- The player is linked with Barcelona, Liverpool and Arsenal.
- Rabiot’s mother, Veronique, claims PSG are treating her son ‘like a prisoner’.
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The 23-year-old’s contract expires at the end of the season and although he has been heavily linked with a summer move to Barcelona, all Rabiot can do is wait things out until his deal runs out.
And Veronique has now told L’Equipe of how her ‘modest’ son is suffering from his current situation.
“I do not want to cry about it, or to weaken even more Adrien saying he is not good,” Veronique said. “We are attacking the human side here. We are modest. I can only tell you that he feels very badly [about] everything that happens.”
But she has absolutely no sympathy on PSG, blasting the ‘cruel environment’ in which the club is keeping her son.
She added: “Adrien is a prisoner! He is even held hostage by PSG. Soon it will be dry bread, water, and a dungeon! This environment is cruel.”
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Rabiot has been heavily criticised for being spotted in a nightclub recently. According to reports, he was also responded for ‘liking’ a social media post from Patrice Evra that mocked PSG in the wake of their Champions League elimination at the hands of Manchester United.
But Veronique insists Rabiot accidentally liked the wrong video, while she also slammed PSG for trying to run his life, even though they no longer want him in the squad.
“I can already say that we blamed him for liking the wrong video,” she said. “This is not the one where Patrice Evra ‘celebrates’ the elimination of Paris.
“And then, there is this nightclub outing … But PSG wants to take care of Adrien’s private life, too, when they don’t even want him anymore!
“They want him to put on his pyjamas at nine o’clock, before the game, in front of his TV, to go to bed at eleven o’clock!
“These people do not know the rhythm of life of the players? When a player plays, which is his job, he has a training rhythm. In this case, nothing happens for Adrien.
“Adrien is not going to take a pottery class until something happens. He must take care of himself, let him live!”
Rabiot set for Liverpool or Arsenal?
It was widely reported in January that Rabiot had secured a pre-contractual agreement with Barcelona. However, the reigning La Liga champions have since confirmed a £65m deal for Ajax midfielder Frenkie de Jong, who is two years Rabiot’s junior.
Robert Pires recently advised Arsenal to sign Rabiot as a replacement for outgoing midfielder Aaron Ramsey. Danny Murphy, meanwhile, had a similar message for his old club.
“Rabiot is a quality footballer who is technically very good and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him in a Liverpool shirt next season,” the former Liverpool midfielder told SportingBet.
“It’s potentially the one area that Liverpool are missing since [Philippe] Coutinho went to Barcelona and he is a very attractive proposition on a free transfer. Klopp might feel he offers something different to what we can offer in midfield at the moment so it certainly wouldn’t be a bad addition.
“The question marks would be whether he is athletic and tenacious enough to fit Klopp’s style of play at Liverpool. He is more of a [Adam] Lallana mould player who has quick feet and is creative on the ball, but he has had limited opportunities as a result. It remains to be seen if Rabiot would be a starter at Liverpool unless they changed to a Plan B.”
