PSG reject 'ridiculous' Zidane reports and break silence over Pochettino
Martin Macdonald
- 26 Nov 2021 09:23 CST
- 3 min read
Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo has rejected claims that the club have held talks with Zinedine Zidane to become their new head coach.
When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked as Manchester United boss, current PSG head coach Mauricio Pochettino emerged as their number one target even though he is in the middle of a season and contract with the French giants.
Several reports have suggested that Pochettino would be interested in joining Man Utd, even in the middle of a campaign.
Now, though, the Red Devils are on the cusp of appointing Ralf Rangnick on an interim basis until the end of the 2021/22 season.
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That could mean Pochettino arriving next summer, but Leonardo insists the Argentine is happy in Paris, and denied that PSG have had any contact whatsoever with Zidane.
“We do not want Pochettino to leave,” Leonardo told AFP.
“He never asked to leave and no club contacted us in relation to him.
“We have lots of respect for Zinedine Zidane, for what he did as a player and coach, but I can affirm very clearly that there was no contact or meeting with him.
“It is ridiculous to imagine that a meeting with Zidane could have taken place in a big hotel, in Paris, in front of the world.”
Zidane reports denied
Leonardo's comments are in contrast to reports emerging from Qatar which revealed that that Zidane has indeed agreed to take over PSG in the summer.
Previously, there had been some doubts over the move caused by Zidane’s refusal to take command of PSG in the middle of the season. With that in mind, the Ligue 1 side knocked back an approach from Man Utd for their head coach.
This impasse is set to be solved by the World Cup winner apparently agreeing to take charge of the club from next summer.
Khalifah Bin Hamad Al-Thani, who holds connections to PSG’s Qatari owners and correctly reported both Lionel Messi’s move to the club and Kylian Mbappe’s unsettled state, tweeted the news in the early hours of Friday.
“Things are agreed. Soon to be announced. Welcome Zezo [sic],” he said.
