After Paris Saint-Germain parted ways with Mauricio Pochettino as head coach, the Parisian club is poised to announce the Frenchman, Christophe Galtier, as his successor.
Galtier joins PSG from OGC Nice, which he left on June 27, replaced by the Swiss, Lucien Favre.
Given the talents at his disposal—Neymar, Mbappe, and newly signed Lionel Messi—Pochettino incurred wrath from fans after failing to take the club past the Round-of-16 stage in last season’s UEFA Champions League edition, suffering an embarrassing away game defeat to Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid.
Club president Nasser Al-Khelafi and PSG fans are hoping Galtier’s arrival heralds their first ever UEFA Champions League title.
Galtier, who turns 56 in August, played as a defender in his 15-year career as a professional footballer, mostly in France.
Most of his playing days were spent at Marseille, where he enjoyed two spells, first from 1985-1987, then from 1995-1997.
He also played for Lille, Toulouse, Angers, Nîmes, Monza, and Liaoning; the latter was where his playing career ended in 1999.
He returned to his beloved Marseille as an assistant coach in 1999.
His first time as manager was at the Ligue 1 side Saint-Étienne, from 2009-2017.
He then coached Lille from 2017-2021, before becoming Nice’s manager in 2021.
Having overseen 556 games as coach, Galtier has managed 248 wins, 159 loses, and 149 draws.
He was Ligue 1 Manager of the year for the 2012-13, 2018-19, and 2020-21 seasons.
Gaultier won the Ligue 1 with Lille in the 2020-21 season, the Coupe de la Ligue with Saint-Étienne in the 2012-13 season, and was runner-up in the Coupe de France with Nice in the 2021-22 season.
