It is believed that Paris Saint-Germain have fired their coach Thomas Tuchel & Mauricio Pochettino has reached an agreement with Paris Saint-Germain. Negotiations are on for contractual details.
Tuchel had arrived at PSG on a two-year contract in 2018, and guided them to their first-ever Champions League final last season.
I have no doubts about qualification of Pochettino, But why would PSG part ways with Tuchel who delivered? Any insights here?
Former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is expected to become the new PSG manager, reports Fabrizio Romano
Tuchel has become the first PSG coach to leave mid-season since Antoine Kombouare was replaced by Carlo Ancelotti in December 2011.
Reportedly a pre-game interview cost him his job!! A sarcastic comment in the interview seemed to have rubbed the strained relationship with the bosses in a wrong way and proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.
As per News accounts:
Tuchel criticised his position as PSG boss on Wednesday, where he claimed he felt like a ‘politician’ at the club.
Tuchel told Sport 1: ‘To be completely honest, during the first six months, I said to myself: “Am I still a manager or am I a politician in sport, a Minister for Sports?” In a club like this, it is not always just about football.’
After the win over Strasbourg, he had attempted to clarify those comments to Canal+.
"I didn’t say it’s more about politics than sport, nor that I lost the fun of training. This is not true… It is possible they translated incorrectly.
"Watch the video interview. I just said that PSG are unique and that it’s a big challenge for me. It’s always been like that.
“I like this challenge and nothing has changed.”
Asked for a second time about the remark, he added: "I gave a video interview to a journalist who told me to do a story about German coaches.
"It is not an interview for him. It is not allowed. I was making a joke in German. The translation is not correct. We cannot translate word for word.
Apparently Tuchel’s time in the French capital hadn’t been without incident - notably in-fighting between he and former sporting director Antero Henrique, as well as current incumbent Leonardo.
Back in October, Tuchel, hit out at the Brazilian publicly over the exits of Edinson Cavani, Thomas Meunier and club captain Thiago Silva, as well as promising young pair Tanguy Kouassi and Adil Aouchiche, all of whom left for nothing.
It’s understood Tuchel wanted to keep club captain Silva, who has impressed at Chelsea, but the decision over his exit - labelled “clumsy” by the player himself - was made by Leonardo.
Tuchel urged the club to strengthen, leaving Leonardo to hit back publicly himself: "I did not like the statement of the coach Tuchel. I don’t understand it and I did not like it. The club did not like it.
"If someone is not happy, we can talk, there is no problem. But If he decides to stay, he must decide to respect the choices of the sports management."
After that, his latest interview in his homeland appears to have ultimately been the final straw for the sporting director and the club’s Qatari owners.
In my own opinion, I wouldn’t exactly say Thomas Tuchel fully delivered and lived up to the expectations of the French Club.
Before and after the appointment of Tuchel, PSG has been a dominant force domestically. Out of the 29 trophies available in France since 2012/13, PSG have won 22 of them. But despite all these domestic success, they’ve been a constant failure in the UEFA Champions League, which is obviously the biggest stage of European football.
The Big name acquisitions of Neymar and Mbappe were to further strengthen their chances of challenging Europe’s top clubs in the Champions League. Tuchel’s departure comes just months after he led the club to the Champions League final for the first time in their history, where they were narrowly beaten by Bayern Munich, ending his two-and-a-half-year spell in the French capital.
The ex-Borussia Dortmund boss won the Ligue 1 title in both his full seasons in charge, and also delivered the French Cup and last ever edition of the French League Cup in 2020.
PSG may only be third in the table at the moment, but they sit just a point behind leaders Lyon and also qualified from a difficult Champions League group at the expense of Manchester United.
Although there are many outlets reporting that his sacking is not because of his performance, but because of a series of comments he made against the club at an interview. That not withstanding, I personally believe that his inability to deliver The UEFA Champions League to the club, despite the star studded team at his disposal ultimately aided his dismissal.
BREAKING: Paris Saint German have sacked Thomas Tuchel.
