MAURICIO POCHETTINO has reportedly been sacked by Paris Saint-Germain after he reached a severance agreement with the club.
The 50-year-old, who only took charge 18 months ago, finished 15 points clear at the top as he led them to the Ligue 1 title in his first full season at the helm.
However, despite leading Real Madrid 2-0 at one stage of their Champions League tie, the 3-2 exit to the eventual winners left both supporters and PSG chiefs frustrated.
And that was a huge factor in the alleged mutual decision for him to depart Parc des Princes.
It was ESPN that initially claimed he had been sacked – although no official announcement has yet been made.
It has now been reported that Nice head coach Christophe Galtier is the favourite to replace ex-Tottenham man Pochettino after Luis Campos replaced Leonardo as sporting director.
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The report states that early talks with Galtier have gone well and he is up for the challenge of taking on the high-pressured role.
PSG have been linked with former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane, with the French legend said to be the preferred choice of club owner Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Pochettino replaced Thomas Tuchel and led them to the French Cup just months after taking over.
He had been heavily touted to be on Manchester United’s managerial shortlist before they opted to appoint Erik ten Hag.
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PSG were allegedly hoping that he would get offered that job in order to avoid having to hand the South American a pay-off.
But that is not the case and now he will walk away with an eight-figure cash sum for ending his deal early.
However, he could be heading to Spain with Athletic Bilbao if Ricardo Barkala wins their upcoming club presidential election.
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