PARIS – Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) has given Thomas Tuchel marching orders and will be replaced by former Tottenham Hotspurs manager, Mauricio Pochettino, according to reports.
Tuchel was relieved of his managerial duties just hours after overseeing PSG's 4-0 win over Racing Strasbourg yesterday.
According to Sky Germany, PSG's sporting director, Leonardo Araújo, sacked the 47-year-old after the club's emphatic win at the Parc des Princes, which came four months after Tuchel led the Parisian outfit to the Champions League final.
While PSG have not quite dominated Ligue 1 like in previous years, Tuchel managed to come out on top in their awkward Champions’ League group, which contained RB Leipzig and Manchester United.
However, yesterday’s game against Strasbourg proved to be Tuchel's last, after he was told his services were no longer needed.
It was also PSG's last game before the league's three-week winter break, which will see them return on January 6 to face St Etienne.
Tuchel criticised his position as PSG boss yesterday, where he claimed he felt like a 'politician' at the club.
“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.”
Pochettino is still without a club having parted company with Tottenham last year and is being mooted to make a return to the club, where he featured as a player.
According to the foreign media, PSG are currently in negotiations with the Argentine boss, who has always wanted to manage the club.
Pochettino has been linked with other top managerial positions, with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United all being linked with the 48-year-old in the past year. However, Pochettino has been biding his time for the perfect project.
The report goes on to claim that Les Parisiens opened negotiations with Tuchel's lawyers to find a settlement, with the German still having six months left on his contract.
Tuchel has endured a difficult start to his third season in charge and saw him lose ground in the title race having lost four in 11 games this season.
It left the French champions playing catch-up to Lyon and Lille, who had both lost just one game this season.
The former Borussia Dortmund boss was pleased with how his team performed before he got the sack, claiming that his side overcame several injuries to win comfortably on the night.
PSG are currently third in the table and are just a point off top spot and boast the best goal difference in the league. – Daily Mail, 24 December, 2020
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