João Neves says Luis Enrique wants Paris Saint Germain's midfielders to hit 10 goals and 10 assists this season. The Portugal midfielder says the standard at PSG is that high because the team does not play with a true No. 9. The interview will be broadcast in full on Tuesday evening ahead of PSG's trip to Villarreal.
Luis Enrique's attacking demand
Speaking to So Foot, Neves said: "Luis Enrique has that mentality, he wants me to score 10 goals and provide 10 assists. In the way he wants to play, the midfielders have to score goals because we do not play with a true No. 9."
He added in the same interview, in comments translated from French: "He helps me a lot by telling me to stay calm but he also motivates me to do more. He is never satisfied with us, he always wants more, more, more, more."
That is a high bar for a midfielder, and PSG are asking for it while the team is already first in Ligue 1 and first in the Champions League league phase. João Neves has 0 goals and 1 assist in 7 Ligue 1 appearances this season, so the target is still a long way from his domestic output.
Neves's current output
The numbers give the demand some context. Neves has made 7 Ligue 1 appearances, scored 0 goals and supplied 1 assist. He has also made 2 Champions League appearances and already has 1 assist in Europe.
His 6.9 Ligue 1 rating suggests tidy work without much end product yet, which is exactly why Luis Enrique's ask stands out. PSG have the top spot in both Ligue 1 and the Champions League league phase, so this is not a case of a team lacking attacking control. It is a manager pushing a midfielder to add far more to the final third.
The point to keep in mind is simple enough: Luis Enrique is not treating midfielders as support acts. Neves says the target is 10 goals and 10 assists, and PSG's next public test comes against Villarreal on Tuesday evening.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →
