Christophe Galtier, who was in charge of Ligue 1 rivals Nice last season, has been appointed coach of French champions Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year deal and taking over from Argentine Mauricio Pochettino, club sources confirmed on Monday.
55-year-old Galtier was seen arriving at PSG’s offices on Monday with a press conference scheduled at the Parc des Princes on the following day as PSG’s squad reported for pre-season training on Monday.
The Parisian giants – while trying to resolve an impasse with Pochettino and his backroom staff who are still under contract – have been working to secure the appointment of a new coach for several weeks.
Galtier developed a reputation as the leading coach in the French league over the last decade and left Nice last month. Saint-Etienne flourished for eight successful years under his charge and won the League Cup in 2013, before a subsequent four-year stint at Lille saw them earning the Ligue 1 crown in 2021, pipping PSG to the title.
PSG’s Argentine head coach Pochettino is set to leave Paris after an 18-month stint in charge during which he won the Ligue 1 title last season but was also credited with a disappointing Champions League exit in the last 16 at the hands of Real Madrid.
PSG’s swoop for the less glamorous Galtier may surprise some as the Parisian capital club had at one point been linked with a move for Zinedine Zidane. It seems the likely link-up could be attributable to the fact that the former Portsmouth assistant manager had previously worked with Luis Campos, the Portuguese super scout who was recently named as PSG’s football advisor and who built the Lille team that won the league under Galtier.
PSG’s hopes of Champions League success in the short term have been recently boosted by Kylian Mbappe’s unexpected decision at the end of last season to snub Real Madrid and sign a new three-year deal at the Parc des Princes.
Meanwhile, the club’s retinue of stars who were away on international duty will return to join the rest of the squad for pre-season training next week.
The Ligue 1 season will begin on the weekend of August 6 and 7.