Mauricio Pochettino has refuted claims that Kylian Mbappe was responsible for his dismissal from Paris Saint-Germain. After the Argentine once more failed to win the Champions League, Pochettino’s long-anticipated exit was finally made official last month. There had been rumors that Mbappe was behind the sacking.
However, Mbappe strenuously refuted on social media that he had any involvement in the issue, and his ex-boss has now endorsed that denial.
Real Madrid’s elimination of PSG from Europe in the round of 16 during the previous season was reason enough for the club management to choose Christophe Galtier as Pochettino’s replacement.
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Pochettino’s Response To Mbappe’s Role In his PSG Exit
Pochettino stated in an interview with the Argentine daily infobae:
“What I think is that PSG has done everything possible to retain Kylian and I also agree with that.
“He is one of the best players in world football today and I think that PSG, having all the resources to do it, have convinced him to stay. But I don’t think Kylian is the one who designed the new project either [that saw me leave].
“Those who rule, in this case the president, are those who would have thought that the most convenient thing was a new project in the club.”
What Did Pochettino Remark On Working with Leo Messi?
Although Pochettino’s tenure at PSG came to an unsatisfactory end, he did get to spend an entire season coaching his countryman Lionel Messi, whom he considers to be the best player in the world.
“For me Leo Messi is the best in the world. There is no doubt,” he added.
“Afterwards it is clear that Mbappe is a candidate to be able to receive that crown. There is Neymar, who for me is also one of the best players in the world.”
Pochettino went on to back to Messi to shine for Argentina at the World Cup later this year.
“He is physically at his best and I think that age is something anecdotal,” he said.
“I think he has the energy and ability to lead and to reach the World Cup in optimal conditions. I am lucky, thanks to football, for having lived so many moments with Leo in this time.”
How Would Pochettino Grade His Total PSG Performance?
Pochettino also took some time to evaluate his entire time at PSG, saying that despite certain difficulties, it has been a great experience.
“I think it has been very positive,” he said. “Experiences must always be capitalised on and [we must] learn from them.
“We are rational beings who have to think that way. In the sporting aspect we have won the Cup, the Super Cup and the league in a year and a half, but it is clear that PSG’s project is to win the Champions League and everything that is not winning the Champions League can always be thought to have been a failure.
“In any case, it is a failure of 50 years, not only of the last season, because PSG, especially in the last ten, eleven years, with the arrival of the new owners, has the objective of winning the Champions League.”
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