Mauricio Pochettino 'retains support of Paris Saint-Germain squad'

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 06 February 2022

Mauricio Pochettino 'retains support of PSG squad'

Mauricio Pochettino reportedly still has the support of Paris Saint-Germain's players - including Lionel Messi - amid speculation surrounding his future.

Under-fire Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino has reportedly retained the support of the Parisiens squad amid speculation surrounding his future.

Despite PSG's 10-point lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table, the capital club are thought to be underwhelmed by Pochettino and are desperate to replace the Argentine with Zinedine Zidane.

Pochettino himself has supposedly decided to leave the club before the 2022-23 season kicks off, with Manchester United preparing to swoop for the ex-Tottenham Hotspur coach.

There have been suggestions that PSG are experiencing disharmony in the dressing room under Pochettino, but journalist Guillem Balague claims that the 49-year-old is still well liked in Paris, particularly by Lionel Messi.

"To put Messi in the best mood, Pochettino tries to create harmony by keeping all his players happy. He makes sure that common ground is found and several of my sources insist that there has been no conflict in the dressing room so far," Balague wrote in Le Parisien.

"Pochettino never forgets the person behind the player and was patient with Messi, as he is with all of his players. Messi appreciates this and when he returned from the Christmas break, after recovering from Covid [Messi was given extra time to recover and return to France], he hugged his coach for a long time, without saying a word. This was his way of saying thank you."

Pochettino has won 45, drawn 10 and lost 11 of his 66 games in charge of PSG, winning one Coupe de France title and one Trophee des Champions in Paris so far.