Galtier named new PSG coach as Pochettino departs

Christophe Galtier has been confirmed as the new Paris Saint-Germain head coach after Mauricio Pochettino left the Ligue 1 champions. PSG won the league by a margin of 15 points in the 2021-22 season, but Pochettino departed on Tuesday following his failure to deliver their first Champions League title.

Galtier is the man who has been trusted to take over at PSG, strongly supported by new sporting director Luis Campos. Campos and Galtier have worked together previously when they combined at Lille to create the team that pipped PSG to the Ligue 1 title by a point in 2020-21. Galtier left Lille days after they won that championship, joining Nice.

But he spent only a single season on the French Riviera – finishing fifth and reaching the Coupe de France final – before leaving late last month, with Nice bringing back Lucien Favre as his replacement. That move came as speculation persisted around Galtier’s move to PSG, with Pochettino’s exit anticipated since the end of last season.

Pochettino’s departure was confirmed just hours before Galtier appeared alongside PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi at a news conference. Galtier will be tasked with finally ending PSG’s wait for Champions League glory, their latest failure in the competition coming in a second-leg collapse against eventual winners Real Madrid in the last 16. He becomes the club’s sixth coach since 2012. (SportMax)