Christophe Galtier set for PSG exit after just a year in charge, says source
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Paris Saint Germain head coach Christophe Galtier is paying for his team’s disappointing second half of the season.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
PARIS – Christophe Galtier will not remain as the coach of Paris Saint-Germain next season, a source close to the negotiations told AFP on Monday.
The 56-year-old had a disappointing maiden campaign in charge despite leading the Parisian side to a record-breaking 11th French Ligue 1 title.
Contacted by AFP, his lawyer declined to comment, but a source confirmed reports that Galtier would not be in line for a second season in the French capital.
Asked about the subject on Saturday after PSG’s final game of the season, a 3-2 loss to Clermont in which Lionel Messi also played his last match for the French giants, Frenchman Galtier said he had an appointment with club management at the start of the week.
“We will then see what decisions the management will take,” he said, minutes after being booed by a section of the Parc des Princes crowd during the team’s title celebrations.
Galtier is paying for his team’s disappointing second half of the season. After a very successful start, PSG suffered 10 defeats in 2023 in all competitions, exiting the Champions League, the team’s main objective, in the last 16.
He repeatedly blamed the World Cup midway through the season for the loss of momentum.
“The fair analysis, which you don’t want, is that there was a PSG before the World Cup, and a PSG post-World Cup, with very important players some of whom have not played for 16, 17 matches,” he said.
It remains to be seen who will be the new PSG coach, or whether Galtier will stay, however unlikely that is.
Former Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann, 35, is reportedly in talks with the club and wants former French star striker Thierry Henry to be his assistant in the dugout, according to the Daily Mail.
Nagelsmann, sacked by Bayern in March, had turned down the opportunity to manage Chelsea and was also ruled out of contention to take up the Tottenham Hotspur hot seat.
The Telegraph also reported the German would want former Belgium assistant Henry to become his No. 2, adding that the latter’s presence at PSG will be welcomed by superstar and compatriot Kylian Mbappe.
Former Arsenal great Henry, 45, has experience coaching in Ligue 1, having managed PSG’s rivals Monaco before spending a year in charge of Montreal Impact in Major League Soccer. AFP
