With a seemingly bottomless pot of cash to dip into at Parc des Princes, courtesy of billionaire Qatari owners, superstar performers in the French capital are not always given the respect that they deserve. Jese believes that was the case for him on the back of a 2016 transfer from Real Madrid.
Explaining why he made that move, Jese told Mowlihawk: “If I had wanted, I could have stayed at Madrid, but the option to join PSG came up. I wasn’t getting many minutes, so I thought I would go to Paris for more playing time. Plus, Unai Emery was the coach at the time, and he was the one who called me up. Madrid made several signings, and with the desire to play in the Euro Cup, I felt compelled to make the move. I had been so close to making the World Cup squad for Brazil, but injuries held me back.
“They improved my contract and paid significantly more. And considering at Madrid we were paid every six months, it was lucrative. I remember the first time I saw a million in my account; I thought, ‘Wow, is this what scoring goals gets you?’”
Going on to discuss what went wrong for him at Paris Saint-Germain, Blancos academy graduate Jese added – with Al-Khelaifi’s attitude being called into question: “I was treated very poorly there, and it made me understand that Madrid is the best in the world. I debuted at PSG by providing the winning assist in my first game, but then I was sidelined for two months with appendicitis. When winter came, I was told I had to leave. I expressed to [Unai] Emery how deceived I felt.
“The president didn’t want to see me at all. I don’t know if he liked my wife more than me. They provided no explanation. You could earn a lot, but the treatment was disheartening. I recognised there that Madrid is the best in everything. It felt like dealing with a billionaire who treats players like they are expendable figurines in a game.”
