Paris Saint-Germain left-back Maxwell has backed the "huge" changes made by the French champions this summer, saying that the club had reached a point where it "had to change" in order to move forward.
Maxwell, 35, signed a one-year contract extension in June but has since lost his place to Layvin Kurzawa in Unai Emery's side. Despite that, the former Brazil international is relishing the "new challenge" he and his teammates face at Parc des Princes and has praised the ideas introduced by Emery.
"Many things have changed since the beginning [of my time at the club] but this summer was a huge change," he told PSG's official website. "A new cycle of players has started, important players have left and the coach and staff have changed too.
"The decision taken by the club is a very important one. We won many trophies but we had arrived at a point where the club had to change. We [the players] accepted that, so it is also a new challenge for us.
"The team has been playing a certain way for the last four years, so it is not that easy to arrive and change things so quickly. But [Emery] is giving us his new ideas, introducing his philosophy and we are trying to follow as fast as we can. I think he can give us a lot. He is already teaching us plenty and I think the club made a good choice [hiring him]."
Maxwell is into his fifth full season with PSG and has already put off retirement for one more year after declaring back in March of 2015 that this contract would be his "last" when it expired this summer.
The former Barcelona star is happy in Paris though and delighted to still be plying his trade "at the top level."
"I feel good, I am very pleased to still be playing at the top level this season," Maxwell said. "Discussions with the club lasted for a long time. I feel good here; I am on good terms with everybody."
"I believe in this project and I am ready to compete. I decided to stay here. There are several reasons why I signed with PSG again. The club has a lot of faith in me. This new contract was ultimately a rather logical decision."