Soccer

PSG to name Christophe Galtier as manager after parting ways with Pochettino

Former Nice boss set to take over after club cut ties with Argentinian Mauricio Pochettino

Mauricio Pochettino has left his position as PSG manager. Photograph: Karim Jaafar/AFP via Getty Images

Tue Jul 5 2022 - 12:15

Paris Saint-Germain have sacked Mauricio Pochettino as their manager, with Christophe Galtier to be confirmed as his replacement.

Pochettino has left after 18 months, during which he won his first trophies as a manager: the Ligue 1 title last season and, before that, the 2020-21 Coupe de France and 2020 Trophée des Champions.

However, the former Tottenham manager fell short in the Champions League, losing in the semi-finals to Manchester City in 2021 and more damagingly to Real Madrid last season, and the football that took them to the title was widely criticised as an unexciting and unconvincing.

Galtier has left his job at Nice after one season to take the post and is due to inherit a squad that includes Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi and Neymar. Mbappé caused surprised in May by rejecting Madrid to sign a new contract.

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Christophe Galtier is set to take over at PSG after leaving Nice. Photograph: Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images

Galtier led Nice to fifth place after three and a half years at Lille, where he lifted the club clear of relegation, finished second in his first full season, fourth a year later and then won the title before resigning. It was Lille’s first Ligue 1 triumph in 10 years.

A former defender with clubs including Marseille and Lille, Galtier had previously been manager of Saint-Étienne from 2009-17. In 2013 he won the Coupe de la Ligue, the club’s first trophy since 1981. The appointment will come two weeks after PSG’s president, Nasser al-Khelaifi, told Le Parisien: “Today we must be realistic; we don’t want flashy, bling-bling any more, it’s the end of the glitter.”

The club said in a statement: “Paris St-Germain confirms that it has ended its collaboration with Mauricio Pochettino. The club would like to thank Mauricio Pochettino and his staff for their work and wish them the best for the future.”

- Guardian

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