PSG could retain Pochettino as coach

Indications have shown that  Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino will be at the club next season after the recent development.

It is no longer news that Kylian Mbappé signed a new three-year deal at the club which finally addressed speculations about his future. Many had thought he was heading to Real Madrid, which were favoured to sign him. Having admitted that the La Liga club is his dream club, Mbappe signed an extension at the Paris club as he aims to win them a trophy that has eluded them for years – the Champions League despite spending a huge amount of money on players.

According to L’Équipe, despite Pochettino being expected to leave the club at the end of the season, the former Tottenham Hotspur coach could now stay in part thanks to the support of Mbappé.

It was gathered that Mbappe will have a say in some future decisions at the club, like signings and sales, coaches, and sports directors. Thus, Mbappe wanted the Argentine to stay in the club.

Mbappe had said he had a “great relationship” with Pochettino, which shows that he would want to continue playing under him as he enters the last year of his contract.

As it stands, Mbappé’s support could prove crucial since he had expressed his approval of the coach both in public and in private.

Last month, the Argentine had stated that both he and his star forward would “100%” be at the club next season.

Meanwhile, the club hierarchy believes that the sour relationship between the coach and Sporting Director, Leonardo, could have affected the team on the pitch. The climax was the Champions League defeat to Real Madrid. They believe that the result was not entirely down to Pochettino, but his difficult relationship with Leonardo did not help.

PSG will benefit from keeping Pochettino. One of the several benefits the club will benefit from is saving the €15m needed to sack him now.

This could create ample time for PSG to go for Pep Guardiola, who is the Qatari owners’ dream coach.

So, it won’t be a surprise to see the former Southampton man leaves at the end of next year. But if he wins the Champions League, the pendulum may swing again.

Written by: Oladipupo Mojeed