Mauricio Pochettino’s era at Paris Saint-Germain is officially over. The Ligue 1 champions confirmed Pochettino’s departure on Tuesday while announcing Christophe Galtier as their new manager.
Galtier, who coached Nice to fifth place in the domestic league last season, will join on a two-year deal.
“I appreciate the responsibility that I have so that PSG can have a great season,” said Galtier at his introductory press conference. “I have been getting ready for it. If I have accepted his job, it is because I am capable of it. But we have to do it all together.”
The news is far from a surprise as this move has been expected for some time now. Despite winning Ligue 1 in 2021-22, Pochettino failed to make the noise in UEFA Champions League and missed out on the domestic cup. This was deemed a failure in the eyes of PSG owners, and they felt the change was needed if they wanted to capture the elusive UCL trophy.
Hiring Christophe Galtier is certainly an unconventional replacement, considering there were more reputable managers available. However, the Frenchman isn’t without his qualities. After all, he won the Ligue 1 with Lille in 2020-21, which was the only time in the past five seasons that a club besides PSG did it.
Galtier is an ex-defender who played professionally with Marseille, Lille, and Toulouse, among other clubs. He had his longest managerial stint with Saint-Étienne, where he spent eight seasons between 2009 and 2017. During that time, he led the club to seven consecutive top 10 finishes in the domestic league.
