Mauricio Pochettino's return to Paris Saint-Germain as the club's new boss was greeted with the speculation that he would soon recruit his fellow Argentine Lionel Messi. The Barcelona captain is believed to be on the way out of Camp Nou and Pochettino is only happy to bring him on board.
The PSG dismissed Thomas Tuchel and hired Pochettino with the clear objective that the new manager will continue the French champions' winning ways and more. The Argentine boss will be tasked to lead the Parisians to achieve greatness beyond Ligue 1, and the signing of Messi is certainly a boost.
The Barca superstar had a falling out with the La Liga giants and recently made clear that staying with his current club is no longer a priority next summer. Messi indicated he is ready for a new challenge outside of Barcelona and Parc des Princes emerged as a possible landing spot next season.
That's mainly because of the French giants' financial power and if Pochettino is to be asked, he welcomes the idea of having a star like Messi around.
"We leave the rumors aside. All great players are welcome at PSG," Goal reported the 48-year-old boss as saying.
He added that while signing Messi will electrify his side's roster, it is something that he will need to address later. The need of the hour is for PSG to reclaim the top spot in France's top-flight competition and then gun for the higher glory.
The club saw a slow start in the season and it appeared that the PSG hierarchy lost faith in Tuchel. The German was impressive last season and led the squad to title wins. Most importantly, Tuchel guided the French side to a Champions League final appearance last year.
But the incredible run ended in a disappointment as Bayern Munich proved too mighty for the Ligue 1 giants. Tuchel failed to bring home the European championship and it's a misstep that Pochettino will try to correct this year.
The new boss agreed that becoming the champions in Europe is PSG's crowning glory and he will be hard at work to finally lift the UCL trophy. Pochettino had a shot at the title in 2019 while with Tottenham Hotspurs but Liverpool got the better of his side.
"For PSG, as with any big clubs, the Champions League is the most important competition," Pochettino acknowledged, and per the report from The Guardian.
The mission to win the UCL is not easy but Pochettino can count on a solid PSG roster that is headlined by the fearsome frontline duo of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. And if the new manager can convince Messi to make the jump to France, he should be a step closer to realizing that dream.
