Paris Saint-Germain chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi has poured water on rumours that Javier Pastore would want to leave the French champions during the January transfer window. The Argentinean playmaker has failed to live up to the lofty expectations that have surrounded him since his big-money move from Palermo in 2011.
With PSG rumoured to be open to the idea of selling the Argentina international, a number of European clubs are been linked with Pastore, with Liverpool, now 4/6 to finish in the top four, rumoured to be very interested in taking the midfielder to the Premier League.
However, despite the rumours, Al-Khelaifi believes Pastore is happy in Paris and insists the 24-year-old has played an important role in the club’s recent history, in which the midfielder was one of the first major players signed by the ambitious Qatari owners.
“I am not sure Pastore wants to leave. When a player is unhappy it is difficult to keep him. But it is not the case with Pastore. We will never forget he was one of the very first key players to join our project,” said the PSG chairman.
“We are loyal to our players as we ask them to be loyal to the club. Pastore is both a man and player of quality. Maybe he is in a difficult period, but he remains one of the biggest talents in the football world.”
After a somewhat disappointing opening season in Paris in which he managed to muster just four goals and eight assists for a side consistently favourite in the French football odds, Pastore hasn’t been as important a member of the PSG side as he would have liked. After a modest first half of the season in Ligue 1, Pastore opened his account for the campaign with the opening goal in his side’s 3-1 League Cup victory against Bordeaux.