In January 2021, PSG decided to sign Mauricio Pochettino after surprisingly dismissing Thomas Tuchel. The decision was consistent, because the Argentine had been captain of the Parisians as a player, he knew well inside the idiosyncrasies of the club and, in addition, his successes at Tottenham endorsed him. However, the good omens of the board have faded in just a year and a half, just after the elimination of PSG in the round of 16 of the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid.
Pochettino is, in terms of results, the worst coach of the Qatari era at PSG. Last season, although it is true that he had many injuries and little time, the player from Santa Fe lost Ligue 1 in favor of Lille, breaking a negative record of defeats at home and consoling himself with the Super Cup against Marseille and the French Cup against Monaco.
The measuring stick on Pochettino was evident that it was going to take place this season. The megaproject forged by Al-Khelaïfi in the summer, signing Messi, Sergio Ramos, Wijnaldum, Donnarumma, Achraf and Nuno Mendes, forced the coach to fight for all competitions until the last instance. It was not so. PSG lost the Super Cup in August against Lille, was eliminated in January at the hands of Nice in the round of 16 of the French Cup and was left behind against Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16. This year, the former Tottenham manager can now only aspire to win Ligue 1, in which he is 13 points ahead of Nice and in which he has won many games in the last few minutes, another evidence of how little his team has evolved despite the millionaire investments from Qatar to win the long-awaited Champions League.
Except for a radical turn of events, Mauricio Pochettino will not continue at PSG next season. Of all the coaches that the Parisian team has had since the arrival of QSI, the Argentine’s numbers are by far the least striking in terms of winning percentage. The only question is whether Leonardo dismisses him before June or, on the contrary, they let him win Ligue 1 before formalizing his departure. On the wire is Zidane, Qatar’s favorite to succeed the Argentine and who is still waiting for the French team.