Christophe Galtier sacked by PSG despite Ligue 1 title with next manager at the ready.
Paris Saint-Germain fired manager Christophe Galtier just days after the club won the Ligue 1 title.
Galtier was only appointed to the role a year ago, to replace Mauricio Pochettino in the hotseat, but despite his league success – the season fell short of expectations. According to widespread reports in France, he has now left the Parc des Princes.
PSG were ousted from the Champions League in the Round of 16 by Bayern Munich, and they were also eliminated from the Coupe de France by Marseille. Former Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann is the favourite to replace Galtier.
His final match in the dugout was this weekend’s clash against Clermont Foot with PSG falling to a 3-2 defeat, despite the title already being wrapped up. It ensured Les Parisiens finished just one point ahead of surprise package Lens in the final standings.
Yet a league title was never likely to be enough for Galtier, who replaced Pochettino in similar circumstances. The Argentine lasted just 18 months in the PSG dugout despite winning the league in his one full season in charge of the club – having similarly fallen short in cup competitions.
Domestic success is not how PSG measure their management but by performance on the European stage. This season’s Champions League performance was viewed as being below-par; they finished second behind Benfica at the group stage of the competition before being dumped out by Bayern, without scoring a goal across the two legs.
PSG have never won the Champions League trophy and that the trophy has eluded them has proved to be a source of great frustration to the club hierarchy and fans. They have reached the final of the competition just once, under Thomas Tuchel in 2020.
They fell short against Bayern in that year’s competition and have been unable to replicate that success. They have now been eliminated at the Round of 16 stage for successive seasons and widespread change is expected this summer.
Lionel Messi is leading the list of high-profile exits while Nagelsmann, who eliminated PSG from this season’s Champions League, is likely to be the new man in the dugout. Sporting CP midfielder Manuel Ugarte and Marco Asensio, who has left Real Madrid, are likely to be early signings.
