France legend Zinedine Zidane will replace current Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) coach Mauricio Pochettino in the upcoming season, Europe 1 reports. The speculation about Zidane taking over comes after Pochettino’s 18 months with the club as head coach for the French club. Pochettino was expected to win the Champions League along with a long list of managers who have led the club in recent years, but he failed in the last 16 in front of a powerful Real Madrid team led by Carlo Ancelotti. However, PSG won the League 1 title but with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi, Pochettino was expected to hand over the UCL title. Zidane, who has won three Champions Leagues with Real Madrid, is currently without a club from the 2021-22 season. However, Pochettino still has a year left on his PSG contract and the arrival of the former Real Madrid boss would mean PSG sacking the current manager who won the French top flight for him this season.
Zinedine Zidane is PSG’s favorite coach of all time.
Zinedine Zidane manages PSG could be just what Lionel Messi and Leandro Paredes need at the club. pic.twitter.com/Qg1eV8zTJz
— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) June 10, 2022
Zidane’s trophy collection as Real Madrid coach:
*Two LaLiga titles (2016/17 and 2019/20)
* Three Champions Leagues (2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18)
* Two Spanish Super Cups (2017, 2019/20)
* Two UEFA Super Cups (2016, 2017)
* Two FIFA Club World Cups (2016, 2017)
Mauricio Pochettino, on the other hand, won his first trophy des Champions with PSG in 2021 for the eighth time in the club’s history.
Zidane’s move to PSG could be linked to French golden boy Kylian Mbappe, who stayed at the club after turning down Real Madrid in the summer transfer window. Mbappe has signed a contract extension with Paris Saint-Germain that will see France remain French champions with the Ligue 1 side until 2025. “I wanted to announce that I have chosen to extend my contract at Paris Saint-Germain, and I am certainly very pleased. I am confident that here I can continue to grow within a club that is itself gives all the means to perform at the highest level,” the 23-year-old said in a statement to the club.