Trained on the side of Grenoble, AS Saint-Etienne or even Auxerre, Ruben Aguilar has been defending the colors of Monaco since 2019, a club which opened the doors to the France team in 2020. For Europe 1, the right-back defender confides in the meeting against the stars of PSG, his duel on the field with the Ballon d’Or Lionel Messi, the supporters of AS Monaco and evokes the France team, whom he hopes to find .
Do you think this is the biggest event of the year?
The biggest, I don’t know. We have had a lot of big meetings so far, which we have been able to meet, especially in the Europa League where we finished first in our group, undefeated. But of course, it’s one of the biggest games of the year. It’s always something to play Paris Saint-Germain for sure. For any Ligue 1 player for any team. It will be a big match with a great atmosphere at the Park. We will try to meet this big challenge. We will have to be all together, be a team, be united and redouble our efforts.
You will defend on Lionel Messi. How does it feel to defend on a sevenfold Ballon d’Or?
It’s not nothing. He deserves his Ballon d’Or even though there were other important contenders. He had a great year. We are lucky to have such players in our championship. Me, personally, I do not calculate all that. I try to take the ball away from him. He’s still the best player in the world, like Kylian Mbappé or others. But in the field, in fact, we make a difference. They are our opponents, so there will be no freebie.
The Parc des Princes will be full. In Monaco, the atmosphere is sometimes more subdued. Do you envy Parisian players?
No ! (laughs). Of course, it’s always better to play in front of a packed stadium. After in Monaco, we also have our audience. We have a large community throughout France. We are well followed and that is important for us. There is a lot of fervor around the club which is quite important for us players.
We do not forget that you are an international. A selection was a lost match against Finland (0-2, November 11, 2002), but you played with this France team jersey. Is there an ambition and a desire to find this blue jersey?
Obviously, we always want and hope to return one day when we have had the chance to taste it. Now, my ambitions are turned towards AS Monaco and towards the championship, towards the Europa League. If one day, I have the chance to return to the French team, wearing this fabulous blue jersey, that will be the greatest pleasure. If I want to come and titillate the hierarchy a little, that will require great performances.