PSG wonderkid name-drops Cristiano Ronaldo as he responds to harsh criticism

Paris Saint-Germain star Warren Zaire-Emery has responded to criticism by pointing out that even Cristiano Ronaldo receives stick. The 18-year-old has endured a tough start to the Ligue 1 campaign.

Zaire-Emery enjoyed a fantastic last year, building on an impressive breakthrough 2022-23 season during which he mostly featured as a 16-year-old. He has already been capped five times by France and was part of his country’s Euro 2024 squad.

However, 2024-25 has been a tougher term for the teenager. Despite starting all nine of his side’s matches and featuring in 83 per cent of Ligue 1 minutes, Zaire-Emery has come in for criticism from sections of PSG’s support.

But Luis Enrique’s young star is not entirely bothered and plans to work hard to silence his critics. He pointed out that even Ronaldo – one of the greatest players of all-time – has doubters.

“Criticism? There will always be some,” Zaire-Emery told Telefoot. “When I see that even Cristiano Ronaldo is criticised when there is nothing to say about the player… It is up to me to work and ignore everything that is on social networks.”

Zaire-Emery will likely remain a key player under head coach Enrique, who has spearheaded a new era at PSG. There has been a stronger focus on developing young homegrown talent, with Bradley Barcola also excelling for the Parisians.

PSG remain unbeaten in their first eight Ligue 1 matches. A 4-2 victory over Strasbourg on Saturday kept them at the top of the table, although Enrique’s side are level on 20 points with Monaco.

However, the club’s Champions League campaign has not gone to plan. They were defeated 2-0 by Arsenal earlier this month, a result which followed a largely underwhelming 1-0 triumph over Girona. A tough duo of European fixtures against Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich.

Enrique is not concerned by his side’s form, though. He expected a slower start after a transitional summer, in which the club lost Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid on a free transfer.

“The start of the season in general has been very positive, even more positive than I imagined,” the Spaniard said.

“Throughout the season, it is not a linear process, there are better moments and less good moments. We haven’t had any bad spell yet. We would like to win every game but that is not possible in football.”