According to Kylian Mbappe, coach Mauricio Pochettino caused Paris Saint-Germain to lose its intimidating reputation.
The 50-year-old Argentine has allegedly been fired, although the club hasn’t made an official declaration since they’re still working out the details of his exit package.
PSG won Ligue 1 by 15 points. But following their Winners League loss to eventual champions Real Madrid in March, there were still questions about Pochettino in Paris.
The hierarchy’s first priority was to win this competition, and the French giants handed away a two-goal lead as a hat-trick from Karim Benzema in Spain in the last 18 minutes causing them to lose 3-2 overall.
And in an apparent critique of Pochettino’s tactics, Mbappe told BFMTV that the team had been less ‘fearsome’ and ‘untouchable’ under the former Tottenham and Southampton manager.
This last season, he claimed, “We weren’t as dreadful and unbeatable.” We want to resume our previous frightening behavior in France, which we have not done for the past two years.
The 23-year-old Mbappe, one of the top footballers in the world, extended his contract for another three years, apparently making him the highest-paid player in the world. That agreement reportedly includes a say in which players and managers remain or depart.
And Mbappe acknowledged that winning European championships was the ultimate objective for both the players and the incoming management.
The Champions League is the ultimate objective, he continued. This has been the stated and obvious goal. There aren’t many more adverbs that may be used to describe the Champions League. That is what we desire.