Mauricio Pochettino is expected to secure the Ligue 1 title this campaign, as his side sit 15 points ahead of second placed Marseille with 65 points from 28 games. However, Paris Saint-Germain’s failure in cup competitions has forced the spotlight on the Argentine manager.
They first crashed out of the French Cup to southern rivals OGC Nice 6-5 on penalties, before being handed a shock meltdown defeat at the hands of Real Madrid in the 2nd leg of the UEFA Champions League last 16 tie.
While the domestic title will be PSG’s 10th – matching St.Etienne’s record of having won the most French titles in history – the defeat against Real Madrid most likely marked the end of Mauricio Pochettino’s adventure on the bench of Paris Saint-Germain.
According to renowned French news outlet L’Equipe (via MilanNews), Nasser Al-Khelaifi has ten names in his shortlist that includes legendary managerial duo from Madrid, Zinedine Zidane and Diego Simeone, to replace Pochettino. However, the list also consists of three Italian managers to take over the Parisian dugout.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Antonio Conte, Juventus’ Max Allegri and Inter’s Simone Inzaghi are the ones the PSG management are eyeing. Apart from them, there is also said to be some interest in Spezia manager Thiago Motta.
The other strong candidates include Erik Ten Hag (Ajax), Christophe Galtier (Nice), Mikel Arteta (Arsenal) and free agent Lucien Favre, who last held reigns at Borussia Dortmund between 2018 and 2020.