No party: PSG defends Verratti and Matuidi
Allegations that Blaise Matuidi and Marco Verratti partied before Paris Saint-Germain's UEFA Champions League exit to Barcelona have been slammed by the club.
Paris Saint-Germain has blasted the "malevolent rumours" that suggested midfielders Blaise Matuidi and Marco Verratti were spotted partying two days before the club's spectacular UEFA Champions League collapse to Barcelona.
PSG led 4-0 after the first leg but was knocked out by a dramatic 6-1 Barca win at Camp Nou on Thursday (AEDT), leading to fans clashing with players at Bourget Airport on their return to France.
Leading sports newspaper L'Equipe reported that Matuidi and Verratti were seen by witnesses partying in a Paris nightclub until well after midnight on Monday (CET), leading to PSG releasing an angry response via social media.
"Blaise Matuidi and Marco Verratti in a nightclub two days before Barcelona?" PSG posted on Twitter on Friday.
"It is insulting to their professionalism and their club. A defeat will never authorise the spreading of the most malevolent rumours.
"Shame to those — often L'Equipe — who disseminate them without even knowing their information. No credibility."
The club also disputed another L'Equipe story in relation to a victory parade in Paris should it have gone on to win the European title.