Paris Saint-Germain Officially Confirms Separation from Pochettino, Awaiting Possible Arrival of Enrique

Paris Saint-Germain has officially confirmed the separation from coach Christophe Galtier after just one season with the team and a year remaining on his contract, praising the 56-year-old's professionalism.

In a statement, the Parisian club stated, "After the conclusion of the 2022-2023 season, Paris Saint-Germain and Galtier have decided to terminate his contract as the coach of the first team," while acknowledging his professionalism and dedication.

Earlier on Wednesday, a reliable source informed Agence France-Presse that negotiations between Paris Saint-Germain and Galtier resulted in an agreement regarding the terms of the coach's departure, one year before the end of his contract.

The former Saint-Étienne, Lille, and Nice coach will be leaving the capital club after just one season, having only secured the domestic league title and falling short on the continental stage.

It is expected that Paris Saint-Germain will announce the name of the potential new coach later on Wednesday, with Spanish coach Luis Enrique being the leading candidate.

This marks the first time since the Qatari ownership took over Paris Saint-Germain in 2011 that any coach is reportedly leaving the team after just one season.

The 56-year-old coach leaves the capital club under unfortunate circumstances, as he and his son, John Valovitch-Galtier, were recently taken into custody by judicial police at the end of last month and are set to stand trial in December for alleged discriminatory statements made while Galtier was coaching Nice.

A preliminary investigation was initiated in this case in April of last year due to "discriminatory statements based on race or religious affiliation" towards his players during his tenure as Nice coach in the 2021-2022 season.

Galtier has faced significant controversy since mid-April when independent journalist Romain Molina and Radio Montecarlo Sports published an email attributed to former Nice sporting director Julien Fournier, in which Fournier claimed that Galtier made discriminatory remarks about a segment of the Nice team.

Fournier specifically mentioned Galtier's alleged remarks as follows: "+Then he replied that I had to take into account the reality of the city and that in reality, we couldn't have that many Blacks and Muslims in the team+ and +he talked to me about his desire to deeply change the team, specifying that he wanted to limit the number of Muslim players as much as possible+."

This email was sent at the end of last season to Dave Brailsford, the director of sports for INEOS, the petrochemical company that owns the club, to denounce the racist and Islamophobic statements regarding team building and management.

Galtier denied making any discriminatory remarks about the players he had coached at Nice in a statement published by Paris Saint-Germain, expressing his deep shock at the accusations.

Galtier's departure from Paris Saint-Germain was already determined when the management informed him at the beginning of last month that he would not continue leading the team for a second season, despite winning the club's eleventh league title.

The former defender, particularly known for his time at Olympique de Marseille, where he was born and developed, and after his successful tenure at Saint-Étienne, guided Lille to the French championship in 2021.

The following season, he led Nice to the final of the French Cup before joining the capital club in July 2022, succeeding Mauricio Pochettino. However, his tenure was short-lived due to the team's early exit from both the UEFA.

 

AFP