PSG and Juventus hero Blaise Matuidi has won 21 trophies in his career – just imagine the impact he’d make at Premier League outfit Everton.
There is one word that sums up Blasie Matuidi; ‘indispensable’.
When compiling a list of the greatest midfielders of the last ten years, few would put the 5ft 11ins, Toulouse-born powerhouse near the top.
He can’t hold a candle to the skill or creativity of Andres Iniesta, Xavi or even the likes of Miralem Pjanic or Cesc Fabregas. In fact, he’s a player far more likely shuttle down the left or hassle an opposition playmaker rather than open up a defence with a pinpoint pass or batter the top corner with a 30-yard rocket.
Yet, there’s a reason why Matuidi has spent the best part of a decade as a crucial part of the starting XI at both Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus, lifting 20 trophies at club level while earning 81 caps for the French national team. He’s the epitome of balance, control, discipline and tenacity. If team-mates like Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are the King of their respective clubs, then Matuidi is the man who polishes their crown.
A World Cup winner as of last summer, the 32-year-old is adored equally by Unai Emery, Didier Deschamps, Max Allegri and Carlo Ancelotti. Four different managers with different styles and tactical blueprints but united in their love and respect for one of the most underrated footballers of the generation.
“Today, he is as indispensable to PSG as Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Thiago Silva. He is a player who does not necessarily have a technical talent but he has talent of the heart,” Ancelotti said in 2013, as reported by ParisFans.
“He is a player of a very, very high level. Compared to (Barcelona star) Sergio Busquets, for example, he is able to put more intensity in his game.”
The fastest player in Europe
“He will never leave,” PSG chairman Nasser El-Khelaifi added to L’Equipe. ” Matuidi is the fastest player in his position in Europe. He always wants to learn, to progress. That makes him special and unique.
“He is one of the best players in our squad.”
Of course, Matuidi did leave. PSG were forced to sell their linchpin to Juventus in 2017, swapping his substance for Neymar’s style. It’s not hard to imagine that those Champions League collapses at the hands of Manchester United and Real Madrid might not have happened with Matuidi patrolling the engine room.
And after two Serie A titles in two years in Turin, he could be on the move again. Le Parisien claims that Everton are keen to bring this understated yet serial winner to the Premier League for the first time.
And, based on the last ten years of Matuidi’s trophy laden career, its hard to imagine him being anything other than a roaring success at Goodison Park.
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