French Ligue 1
PSG name Galtier as new manager after parting ways with Pochettino
Paris St Germain announced Christophe Galtier as their new manager on Tuesday, shortly after the Ligue 1 champions parted ways with Mauricio Pochettino.
Galtier joins PSG on a two-year contract after leaving Nice last month, having guided them to a runners-up finish in the French Cup and fifth place in Ligue 1 last season.
The 55-year-old Frenchman joined Nice in 2021 after leading Lille to their first Ligue 1 title since 2011 in the previous campaign. Before joining Lille, Galtier spent eight seasons at Saint Etienne, where he won the French Cup in 2012-2013.
“When you’re here (at the Parc des Princes) you feel the expectations,” said Galtier, who is PSG’s first French coach since Laurent Blanc in 2013-16.
“I appreciate the responsibility that I have so that PSG can have a great season. I have been getting ready for it. If I have accepted his job it is because I am capable of it. But we have to do it all together.”
At PSG, Galtier will be re-united with Luis Campos, the club’s newly-appointed football advisor, with the pair having worked together at Lille.
Galtier’s appointment comes after PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi put an end to speculation surrounding France great Zinedine Zidane, dismissing reports that PSG had been in talks with the 1998 World Cup winner about becoming their new boss.
“We never talked with Zidane. I love the player and the coach but we never talked with him. Christophe Galtier was always our first option,” al-Khelaifi told a news conference on Tuesday.
Pochettino, who was appointed by PSG in January 2021, won the Ligue 1 title in 2021-22 and the French Cup in 2020-21 but failed to deliver in the Champions League, the only major trophy that has eluded PSG since Qatar Sports Investment took over in 2011.
PSG, eight times league winners since the takeover, were Champions League runners-up in 2020 but they were knocked out in the last 16 last season by eventual champions Real Madrid.
Pochettino came in with a strong resume after making Tottenham Hotspur perennial top-four finishers in England’s Premier League and guiding them to the Champions League final in 2019.
Despite having a star-studded squad at his disposal at PSG, with Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi leading the attack, Pochettino failed to win the other domestic trophies on offer, lifting only the league title last season.
Pochettino leaves PSG after 84 competitive games in charge, having won 55, drawn 15 and lost 14.
-Reuters
Paul Pogba has joined AS Monaco on a free transfer after signing a two-year contract, the Ligue 1 club said on Saturday, as the 32-year-old French midfielder looks to revive his career following a doping ban.
Pogba was handed a four-year doping ban in February 2024 after testing positive for DHEA, which boosts testosterone levels. The suspension was cut to 18 months after a successful appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Italian club Juventus announced in November that they had mutually agreed to terminate his contract, which was due to expire in June 2026.
The 2018 World Cup winner had a disappointing second spell with Juventus due to injuries after returning to the Turin-based club following his departure from Manchester United on a free transfer in 2022.
Pogba was signed by United in 2016 for a then-world record fee of 89 million pounds ($122 million) but the four-times Serie A champion won only two trophies with the Premier League club — the League Cup and Europa League in his first season.
He last played for France in 2022 but knee surgery prevented him from appearing at the World Cup in Qatar.
Monaco finished third behind Ligue 1 champions Paris St Germain and Olympique de Marseille last season.
-Reuters
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After Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi signed a contract extension with French Ligue 1 side, Paris Saint-Germain, he became the World’s most-paid fullback.
The Moroccan international will earn a staggering €70 million in wages over his new five-year deal, cementing his status as football’s highest-paid defender.
He signed a contract extension with the French champions until 2029. The new deal adds three years to his previous contract, which was set to expire in 2026.
His net salary is increasing from €10 million to €14 million per season (€28 million gross).
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The 2024 Ballon d’Or nominee and Super Eagles winger, Ademola Lookman, is almost certain to leave the Serie A in the coming winter transfer window following interest from Premiership but the biggest interest is from Paris Saint Germaine.
The AFCON 2024 silver medal winner with Nigeria has been on the radar of the London side, West Ham United and three other sides from the league but all is more certain that the London club will find it difficult to compete for the signature of Atalanta star according to Football Insider.
Reports have suggested that the Irons are ready to swoop for the Nigeria international in the January transfer window.
However, sources say there will be “huge interest” from Europe in the 27-year-old ex-Everton star.
Paris Saint-Germain will be the frontrunner for the forward if he becomes available in the coming months.
Additionally, Lookman plays in the same area of the pitch as West Ham’s big-money summer signings Crysencio Summerville and Luis Guilherme.
The London-born has raised his stock with his displays for Atalanta since joining from RB Leipzig in 2022.
He finished 14th in the Ballon d’Or rankings this year after leading the Italian side to a Europa League title last term.
Lookman has already hit five goals and contributed five assists in 10 games across all competitions this term.
The forward, who is under contract until June 2026, hit 17 goals and notched 10 assists in 45 appearances last season.
West Ham are unlikely to have serious funds to spend in the January window after their lavish spending in the off-season.
Julen Lopetegui’s side started slowly and sat 13th in the Premier League after nine games.
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