Faouzi Ghoulam says PSG signed Fabian Ruiz from Napoli in 2022 to get revenge on Real Madrid. The Spanish midfielder has since won two Champions Leagues with PSG.
Former Napoli player Faouzi Ghoulam shared a funny anecdote about his former teammate Fabian Ruiz's transfer to PSG during the summer 2022 transfer window.
Having disappeared from the radar for a few years, Algerian international Ghoulam, 35, has come out of the woodwork in recent days by giving a long interview to Corriere dello Sport, in which he spoke a lot about Napoli, the club whose colors he defended from 2014 to 2022 after making his mark at ASSE.
The former left-back knew Fabian Ruiz well in Italy, where he arrived at Napoli in the summer of 2018, the same year Carlo Ancelotti arrived.
While he has been a key player for PSG for several seasons, Ruiz had two contrasting seasons there under Christophe Galtier (2022/23) and then Luis Enrique (2023/24).
According to Faouzi Ghoulam, who considers Fabian Ruiz a friend, PSG simply recruited him in the summer of 2022 from Naples to get revenge on Real Madrid, who wanted to get the Spaniard back on a free transfer a year later (in 2023), but had mainly tried to recruit Kylian Mbappé in that same year, 2022, before the latter extended his contract in Paris in May.
Was Signing Fabian Ruiz a Revenge Move by PSG Against Real Madrid?
“He’s a very strong player. When he arrived under Ancelotti (in 2018), the club told us they absolutely wanted him. Then he went to France only because PSG wanted to pull a fast one on Real Madrid. Ancelotti also wanted to take him to Real when his contract was expiring, but the club was waiting for Mbappé, so they couldn’t finalize the deal. PSG then took the initiative. Yet, initially, they didn’t want him; in fact, he wasn’t playing,” Ghoulam revealed.
However, it's difficult to agree with the Algerian's final point, since Fabian Ruiz played 37 matches in his first season at PSG under Galtier. Admittedly, he wasn't a guaranteed starter, but he still got playing time and notably started in the Champions League Round of 16 second leg in Munich in March 2023.
He started the match well, then collapsed. He has since bounced back brilliantly, winning two Champions Leagues with PSG and the European Championship and the World Cup with Spain.
The only facts we know are that Fabian signed for PSG, and then he won two UEFA Champions League titles. So, we don't think there's any kind of regret on his side.
