Will Openly Recruit Christophe Galtier To Replace Pochettino, PSG President: We Are In Talks With Nice, This Is No Secret

PSG President Nasser al-Khelaifi (Instagram @psg)

JAKARTA – Mauricio Pochettino's position in the coach of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) is only a matter of days. The club is now trying to find a new coach to replace the position he occupies.

PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi on Tuesday, June 21, was clear about the club's efforts. He admitted that he was in communication with Nice to recruit Christophe Galtier as a new tactician.

"We have a short list of coaches. We are in talks with Nice, this is not a secret," Qatar Al-Khelaifi was quoted as saying by Reuters on Wednesday.

The day before, sports newspaper L'Equipe reported that Galtier was being groomed to take over from Pochettino at PSG. However, the announcement will have to wait until Pochettino leaves.

Pochettino, who was appointed 18 months ago, is under pressure after failing to help PSG pave the way in the Champions League last season. They were eliminated in the round of 16 after being beaten by Real Madrid.

In addition to Galtier's name, Zinedine Zidane's name was also mentioned in the list of potential coaches pocketed by Les Parisiens. However, the president said his side had no intention of signing the 1998 World Cup winner.

"Many clubs were interested in signing him, including the national team, but no, we never had discussions with him," he said.

Thus, Galtier is the only strongest candidate to train Lionel Messi and his friends next season. Even though he only joined Nice ahead of last season, PSG's temptation is unlikely to be resisted.

Galtier came to Nice having led his former club Lille to their first Ligue 1 title since 2011 in the previous season. This achievement also ended PSG's dominance in the previous few years.