Christophe Galtier is officially still the trainer of Paris Saint-Germain, but there is already plenty of speculation in Paris about his possible successors. Julian Nagelsmann and Luis Enrique seem to be the main candidates.
According to French media, these are the two top candidates at PSG
Galtier still has a contract until mid-2024 in Paris, but it now seems clear that the French coach will leave. The embarrassing results of the past few weeks have dispelled the last doubts in that regard. Saturday’s home defeat to Clermont Foot was a new low in a drab season for PSG.
The usually well-informed Le Parisien came on Sunday with the news that Luis Enrique (53) is in pole position to succeed Galtier. The Spaniard has been without an employer since his departure from the Spanish national team after the World Cup. Enrique is also in the picture at Napoli.
However, Foot Mercato and L’Équipe come up with a different name: not Enrique, but Julian Nagelsmann would be the top candidate of the Qatari owners. The 35-year-old German eliminated PSG in the Champions League a few months ago. However, Nagelsmann was sent off by Bayern Munich at the end of March and so he is looking for a new challenge. Thierry Henry would be in the picture as Nagelsmann’s assistant on the PSG bench.
Galtier hits back at French press: “I deserve to stay”
However, after winning the national title with Paris Saint-Germain, trainer Christophe Galtier thinks he deserves to stay on. The 56-year-old Frenchman turned his back on the French press after the championship match against Strasbourg.
Galtier’s position has been the subject of discussion since PSG were knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich. What the million-dollar formation has since shown in Ligue 1 was not always convincing either.
At the press conference afterwards it was about the future of Galtier. “Personally, I think I deserve to stay,” the coach replied when asked if he deserves a second season as PSG coach. “Why? Because I gave everything and put a lot of energy into it. I knew how to stay on track in difficult times, both personally and professionally,” Galtier said.
Although Galtier intends to serve out his contract until 2024, PSG is exploring the market in the search for a new trainer, according to French media. “You can write whatever you want. And despite all the analysis, nasty comments and the lack of respect from some, there is a big difference between what the media say and what I experienced daily with the team during the second half of the season,” he complained.
“You didn’t spare me,” Galtier continued. “But we are champions of France, we have won the Trophée des Champions (Super Cup). At PSG, you only have a catastrophic season if you don’t become champion, that happened,” the trainer referred to the national titles of Lille (2021) and AS Monaco (2017). “We didn’t win the Coupe de France and the Champions League in a very difficult second half of the season, but we achieved our goal.”
