Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino has been sacked and Christophe Galtier is expected to be confirmed as the new coach on Tuesday. (More Football News)
Pochettino had one year left on his contract and is the fourth straight coach to be fired by PSG.
"Paris Saint-Germain confirms it has ended its collaboration with Mauricio Pochettino,” the club said in a statement. "The club wishes to thank Mauricio Pochettino and his staff for their work and wish them the best for the future."
Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel, Unai Emery and Laurent Blanc have all been fired since 2016.
Pochettino won the French league but ultimately paid the price for the club's humiliating exit from the Champions League to Real Madrid in the round of 16. PSG led 2-0 on aggregate and conceded three goals inside 20 minutes.
Galtier led Lille to the French title in 2021 and joined Nice last season, finishing fifth but knocking PSG out of the French Cup.
Since cash-rich Qatari investors QSI took over in June 2011, Carlo Ancelotti is the only coach not to be fired, leaving for Real Madrid in 2013. But Ancelotti was hired only after Antoine Kombouare was astonishingly axed in December 2011, despite PSG being three points clear at the top.
POCHETTINO'S MIXED RECORD
Former PSG defender Pochettino took charge in January 2021, after Tuchel was fired.
After reaching the semifinals of the Champions League in 2021, PSG lost the league to Galtier's Lille. Oddly, perhaps, Pochettino's contract was extended by one year to 2023.
Even though PSG reclaimed the French title last season there were alarmingly poor performances along the way, and Kylian Mbappe's outstanding form papered over glaring cracks.
These weaknesses were ruthlessly exposed by Madrid in the return leg of their Champions League last 16 match.
PSG's lack of composure under pressure has been a familiar flaw, and Pochettino did not fix it.
In 2017, PSG was beaten 6-1 by Barcelona after winning 4-0 at home, and two years later injury-hit Manchester United won 3-1 in Paris in injury time.
HIRE AND FIRE
Like Pochettino, Blanc signed a new contract before he was shown the door, exposing PSG's impatience and an apparent indifference to massive compensation packages.
Pochettino and his staff reportedly received around 10 million euros ($10.6 million).
