Joao Neves explained the atmosphere within Paris Saint-Germain’s squad remains positive despite Ousmane Dembele’s criticism of the team’s displays.

Dembele hit out at PSG’s performances in the wake of their 3-1 loss to Rennes last Friday, which enabled Lens to retake the advantage in a tight Ligue 1 title tussle.

The Ballon d’Or winner said PSG’s players were going out on the pitch as individuals, rather than as a collective, as he urged his team-mates to put the club first rather than their own ambitions.

But ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Monaco, with holders PSG taking on their Ligue 1 rivals in a play-off tie to reach the last 16, Joao Neves insisted there is no tension between the players.

“The atmosphere in the locker room is good, the players are confident, the mood is good, we’re ready for tomorrow,” he said.

“I think Ousmane has spoken about it, he’s already said it, but I believe he mainly wants to reinforce what we did last season: play as a team, collectively.

“That’s one of PSG’s great strengths and we show it in every match with the way we play. I think that’s what he wanted to emphasise.

“When we have something to say to certain players, we say it to their faces. Right now, everything is fine, everyone is ready for tomorrow and in a good frame of mind.”

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— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) February 15, 2026

Asked about Dembele’s comments, PSG coach Luis Enrique said: “There’s always a lot of noise surrounding PSG. You have to accept it and that’s it.”

Monaco and PSG have never previously met in European competition.

However, Monaco lost their only prior major European tie against a fellow French side, going down 3-2 on aggregate to Marseille in the 1998-99 UEFA Cup round of 16.

PSG, meanwhile, won both of their previous two games with French opposition in major European competition, beating Brest 10-0 on aggregate during the play-off round of last season’s Champions League (3-0 away, 7-0 at home).

“We need to be attentive and play the same way in every match,” said Luis Enrique when quizzed on facing one of their domestic rivals.

“We have to try to do the job well to win the match. We’re not changing our mentality. We want to win matches at home as well as away.

“I want to see the best version of PSG, and we saw last season that we lost the first leg before coming back in the second. We want to win every match, and our mentality doesn’t change.

“Last year it was very clear, we lacked efficiency at the start, just like in some matches this season. If we create a lot of chances, it’s because we were superior to the opponent, and I think we’ll continue to do so.”