Paris Saint-Germain have reached an agreement with head coach Mauricio Pochettino that will see the Argentine leave his role ahead of the upcoming season after 18 months in charge.
Pochettino is believed to have met the PSG hierarchy last week to discuss the 2021-22 campaign, during which his men won Ligue 1 but lost to eventual winners Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16.
It is understood the conversation produced a mutual decision that the former PSG captain will not continue in the Parc des Princes dugout, with both sides identifying a parting of ways to be the most sensible step.
Given Pochettino’s contract was scheduled to expire in 2023, his exit still needs to be finalised.
But the club are already looking for their new leader; Christophe Galtier of Nice is thought to be among various options.
Pochettino had chances to depart the French capital last summer — Real placed him high on the list of candidates to succeed Zinedine Zidane and Tottenham Hotspur showed firm interest in naming their ex-manager as Jose Mourinho’s replacement — however, a move for the 50-year-old did not materialise.
That followed Pochettino establishing himself as just the third PSG boss to guide them to a European Cup semi-final, beating a Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona and defending champions Bayern Munich en route.
His charges also lifted the French Cup and while they were surprisingly pipped to the top-flight crown by Lille, Pochettino had inherited a team which was third when he took over from Thomas Tuchel in January 2021 and improved their points-per-game ratio.
On the one other occasion their Qatari ownership changed coach mid-season — swapping Antoine Kombouare for Carlo Ancelotti in December 2011 — that, too, failed to result in a league triumph.
Georginio Wijnaldum, Achraf Hakimi, Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Messi and Nuno Mendes were recruited at significant expense to strengthen Pochettino’s squad and they sealed the French title quicker than counterparts in England, Germany, Italy and Spain.
They did so by the biggest margin and Manchester City were the only winners to gain more points, although question marks persisted about the style of play and supporters vented their displeasure.
Meanwhile, the constant links to potential employers such as Manchester United became a theme of Pochettino’s tenure.
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