PSG sacked Tuchel on Christmas Eve, Pochettino appointed as new boss

Paris Saint-Germain have sacked coach Thomas Tuchel and former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino is set to replace him, sources told ESPN.

Pochettino has been unemployed since being fired from Spurs last November after running the club in north London for five years.

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The Argentine boss spent two years at PSG during his playing career, where he won the 2001 UEFA Intertoto Cup.

Tuchel paid the price after the French champions lost four Ligue 1 games this season and went into the winter break third in the table, one point behind Lyon and Lille.

Sources have told ESPN that some players expected Tuchel to get the sack, but he was liked in the locker room.

Sources also said Tuchel had meetings with club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and sporting director Leonardo, and it was decided last week to replace him due to his tensions with Leonardo and lack of playing style.

The French champions suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Lyon on December 13 before a goalless draw in Lille on Sunday.

Despite losing to Manchester United and RB Leipzig, PSG reached the knockout stage of the Champions League, but met Barcelona in the round of 16 in February.

The departure comes four months after Tuchel led the club to its first Champions League final, in which he lost to Bayern Munich in Lisbon.

Tuchel was appointed to succeed Unai Emery on a two-year contract in 2018 and won the Ligue 1 title in his first season before taking a home treble and reaching the Champions League final in his second season.

However, his third season in Paris was overshadowed by a disagreement with PSG sporting director Leonardo over recruiting players.

In October, Tuchel publicly criticized Leonardo, saying: “We are losing too many players to free transfers. It’s too much. We can’t ask this squad like we did last season.”

Leonardo replied the following day after PSG’s 6-1 win over Angers in Ligue 1: “I didn’t like his comments, nor did the club.”

“We have to understand the moment we’re going through. When someone is not happy, it’s easy – we can talk. But if you choose to stay, you have to respect the people above you.”

Thiago Silva, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Thomas Meunier, Edinson Cavani, Tanguy Kouassi and Adil Aouchiche left PSG in the summer despite signing Alessandro Florenzi, Moise Kean and Danilo Pereira on loan and Rafinha as a free transfer.

Tuchel separated from Borussia Dortmund in May 2017, although discrepancies with the club hierarchy were reported, although the club had won the DFB Cup three days earlier.

PSG will be back in action when they travel to Saint-Etienne on January 6th.

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