Paris Saint-Germain have parted ways with Mauricio Pochettino after just one full season in charge.
The Argentine clinched the Ligue 1 title last season in a campaign dominated by the French giants, but failed to win any other silverware — most notably falling short in the Champions League.
We take a look at five factors that contributed to his sacking in what has been a difficult time for Pochettino in Paris.
Champions League misery
Following a superb summer transfer window in 2021, it seemed PSG had all the tools to dominate European football at the start of last season.
The arrivals of Sergio Ramos, Georginio Wijnaldum and Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi and Danilo Pereira were topped off by the sensational coup of landing Lionel Messi on a free transfer.
Pochettino, 50, had been fully backed and was expected to deliver the goods — the club’s first Champions League title.
With a front three of Kylian Mbappe, Messi and Neymar, most would have banked on the French powerhouse to finally emerge victorious on the European stage.
And their mettle was set to be tested against Real Madrid in the last 16.
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Mbappe emphatically bagged a stoppage-time winner in the home leg before Pochettino’s outfit looked to be in cruise control when the Frenchman put them 1-0 up at the Bernabeu.
But a quick-fire second-half hat-trick from Karim Benzema sent PSG packing, unsurprisingly sparking outrage among their fanbase.
Pochettino’s tactics were heavily, and justifiably, criticised while the effort and discipline of his front three were also slammed as they rarely tracked back.
At this moment it was more clear than ever that Pochettino had failed to instil grit and a winning mentality into his side as PSG once again fell short when it mattered on Europe’s elite stage.
