Zidane and the seven managers who could replace Galtier at PSG

Stuart Telford

• Updated: 8 Mar 2023 22:05 GMT
• 4 min read

Christophe Galtier's position as PSG manager is being called into question, and the Champions League exit to Bayern Munich on Wednesday might tip the balance.

PSG were soundly beaten 2-0 in Munich to lose 3-0 on aggregate in the last-16 second leg.

Galtier only replaced Mauricio Pochettino in the Parc des Princes hotseat last summer, and initially won praise for working out a tactical set-up that seemed to get the best out of each of the 'MNM' front three of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi.

But he recently lost three consecutive games in all competitions - against Marseille in the Coupe de France, Monaco in the league and Bayern in the Champions League.

READ: PSG now want to break up Neymar, Messi and Mbappe

Although Paris bounced back with victories over Lille, Marseille and Nantes, Galtier is now in trouble after they were knocked out of the Champions League on Wednesday.

Who might replace Galtier? Three names stand out in the realm of quite likely/remotely plausible: Zinedine Zidane, Thomas Tuchel and Thiago Motta.

Zidane had been out of a job since leaving Real Madrid for the second time in 2021. He had hoped to succeed Didier Deschamps in the France job but after les Bleus reached the final of the winter World Cup in Qatar, Deschamps' contract was extended by four years.

READ: Man Utd, Real Madrid on alert: Zidane wants club job with Deschamps extending

A return to Real is also possible with Carlo Ancelotti 64 on his next birthday and Madrid on course to surrender their La Liga title to Barcelona this season, while Zidane has a personal sympathy for PSG's great rivals Marseille, but the stars are beginning to align for such a move.

Tuchel has been linked with a return, meanwhile. He won back-to-back Ligue 1 titles with PSG in 2019 and 2020 and took them to the Champions League final in the second year, only to be sacked on Christmas Day.

Tuchel twist?

But Leonardo was the sporting director he fell out with, not current 'Football Advisor' Luis Campos, and Paris could be ready to admit their mistake. Tuchel, of course, is available having been sacked by Chelsea in September.

Motta has been impressing with Bologna, meanwhile, and could be ready for the top job at the Parc des Princes having taken PSG's under-19s in the 2018/19 season.

Then there is a list of managers who are less likely, but still in the running: Luciano Spaletti , Jose Mourinho, Steven Gerrard and Will Still.

Spaletti and Mourinho are also in Serie A at the moment with Napoli and Roma respectively. Both are thriving: Spaletti's Napoli are top of Serie A and on course for a first Scudetto in 33 years, while Mourinho led Roma to the Europa Conference League title last May.

But both might feel that PSG is a bigger job, and they have nothing left to prove where they are.

Gerrard and Still are rank outsiders, but their names have nonetheless entered the conversation.

The former has been backed by former Liverpool teammate Gregory Vignal to do a job at PSG following his departure from Aston Villa, while Still is emerging as the brightest managerial prospect in France having yet to taste a league defeat at Reims since succeeding Oscar Garcia in October.

Still doesn't yet have his UEFA A coaching licence, so his appointment at Paris Saint-Germain might be premature, but Reims have now held the champions home and away this season.