Mauricio Pochettino is set to stay as Paris Saint-Germain manager. Despite winning the Ligue 1 trophy, he was expected to lose his job after PSG’s failure in the Champions League. They were knocked out in the Round of 16, despite taking a one-goal lead back to Spain, and were a goal up with 15 minutes to go, due to a sudden collapse.
Instead, Sporting Director Leonardo has paid the ultimate price and been sacked. The reason for Pochettino’s reprieve is the new contract awarded to star Forward Kylian Mbappé. Apart from a signing-on fee rumoured to be GBP 150 million, a weekly salary of GBP 1 million and total control of his image rights, his new deal also gives him the right to have a say in key personnel; decisions at the club, and a voice when it comes to deciding who the club should buy and sell.
Mbappé did not like Leonardo and his methods, which was why he was out of the door before the ink had barely dried on the new contract. However, he has a great relationship and is happy to play under him for the last year of his contract.
Many are unhappy not just because of the inflated terms of Mbappé’s new deal, but also because the power that he now has appears to blur the lines between playing and management.
A manager needs to have a certain distance and objectivity. It is impossible to achieve that when he knows that he has to essentially kowtow to a player. All players, no matter how good, go through patches when their form is less than stellar, and may benefit from a spell out of the team. Would Mbappé appreciate or even accept being dropped?
The scenario is not necessarily good for Mbappé either. The Champions League is the only prize the club’s Middle Eastern backers are really interested in, and Mbappé may find himself too closely associated with failure if they fail to win it over the next few seasons. It is possible to have too much of a good thing.