Thiago Silva asked Barça's Neymar to sign for Paris Saint-Germain

Thiago Silva has admitted he asked Neymar to come to Paris Saint-Germain, a possibility which the Barcelona star did not reject outright. 

The Brazilian duo, who are team-mates at international level, are considered the leaders of their national team in their respective positions and the PSG defender has revealed a conversation he had with Neymar at the Ballon d’Or last month. 

“I said to him: ‘Come to play in Paris with me,’” the defender revealed. “He laughed a little, but he didn’t react. He said: ‘Let’s see what happens, we’ll keep going like this and at the end of the season you’ll know what I do.” 

When asked whether he would prefer to sign Neymar or Cristiano Ronaldo for the French champions, Thiago Silva went for the younger option. 

“It's a difficult choice,” he admitted. “Can I take both? Seriously, though, they are two world class players. Cristiano has a bit more experience than Neymar, but Neymar is 24 and is already at the top. 

“I think that next year or maybe the year after he will be the best player in the world if [Lionel] Messi gives way. I’m like his older brother because I’m Brazilian. With Cristiano, who is Portuguese, it’s a little different, even though he speaks the same language.” 

PSG reveal Aurier punishment for calling Blanc a 'faggot'

Paris Saint-Germain have announced that right-back Serge Aurier will train with the B team until March 20 as a punishment for his comments against Laurent Blanc and some of his team-mates. 

During this time, PSG will play six games, including the decisive second leg of their round-of-16 Champions League tie with Chelsea. The Ivorian defender has also agreed to lead indicatives in co-operation with the club’s Foundation and academy, a statement said. 

Aurier has been away from the first team since February 13 as part of a suspension for calling Blanc a ‘faggot’ as well as making other comments during a question and answer session on a social media site. 

PSG have shown their desire for Aurier to return soon and “celebrate a fourth consecutive league title with his team-mates and the fans” of the team, while also regaining the coaching staff and the squad’s confidence. 

Some people, though, felt Aurier could even have been sacked for his actions, considering the serious nature of his attack on his manager. 

As well as the ‘faggot’ comment, the 23-year-old also made negative remarks about Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Angel Di Maria and Salvatore Sirigu. 

The player has apologised to his team-mates and has received support from, among others, Blaise Matuidi, a personal friend of the Ivorian and one of the heavyweights in the PSG dressing room. 

“He is my friend and he’s a friend of the whole dressing room. Everyone appreciates him. We know he’s committed an error, it’s a human error, he has apologised (…) We need him on and off the pitch,” Matuidi said after the recent win over Rennes. 

Blanc confessed that the whole incident had gone down very badly with him. He said: “I committed myself to bring him to Paris, so to see what I saw (...) that’s the thanks I get? It’s pitiful.” 

It now remains to be seen how Aurier will be received when he returns to the dressing room by the other big characters, such as Ibrahimovic, Di Maria and Brazil international Thiago Silva.