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Dec 25 (Reuters) – Paris St Germain striker Kylian Mbappé paid tribute to Thomas Tuchel after multiple media reports reported that the German manager had been fired by the French Ligue 1 club.
French sports daily L’Equipe and German daily Bild said the 47-year-old, who helped PSG reach the Champions League final in August, which they lost to Bayern Munich, was fired following the victory of the Wednesday 4-0 over Racing Strasbourg.
“It is sadly the law of soccer. No one will forget your time here. You wrote a wonderful part of the history of the club and I say: ‘thank you, coach,’ ”Mbappé said in an Instagram post on Thursday that was accompanied by a photo of him with Tuchel.
PSG are third in Ligue 1 with 35 points from 17 games, one point behind league leaders Olympique Lyonnais and Lille, and are in the last 16 of the Champions League, where they will meet Spanish Barcelona.
The club has not confirmed the departure of Tuchel. L’Equipe reported that Argentine Mauricio Pochettino, former coach of Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League, will be appointed as Tuchel’s successor.
Tuchel was named PSG’s head coach in 2018 and has won two Ligue 1 titles alongside a national quadruple in his second season at the club.
Pochettino, who played for PSG as a defender in the early 2000s, has been out of work since being fired by Spurs in November 2019. He guided the London team to the Champions League final in the 2018 season. -19.
“Pochettino is being aligned by @PSG_English. An excellent coach whose only downside is the lack of winning trophies… Well that’s about to change, ”tweeted former England and Spurs forward Gary Lineker.
Former Argentine international Juan Pablo Sorin said: “Pochettino to @PSG_inside? Hopefully. “(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Edited by William Mallard)
