Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe has paid tribute to sacked manager Thomas Tuchel despite the club still not officially announcing the departure of the German, as fans demanded the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino.
Tuchel was sacked by PSG just hours after his team hammered Strasbourg 4-0 on Wednesday to move within one point of the top of the Ligue 1 table.
The German, who had been at the club since 2018 and led them to a maiden Champions League final appearance last season, was reportedly handed his marching orders by Brazilian sporting director Leonardo.
Earlier this week, Tuchel gave a controversial interview in which he discussed the delicate ‘political’ nature of life at PSG and the need to keep the team’s star names happy, although the 47-year-old later claimed he had been mistranslated.
It’s unclear whether the comments were the final nail in Tuchel’s coffin, and somewhat bafflingly PSG are yet to confirm his departure despite the news being widely reported on Thursday.
Tuchel’s dismissal has also seemingly been confirmed by a message from star forward Mbappe on his Instagram Stories in which he paid tribute to his former coach.
“It is sadly the law of football. Nobody will forget your time here. You wrote a wonderful part of the club’s history and I say to you: ‘thank you, coach,'” wrote the 22-year-old, sharing an image of himself embracing Tuchel.
Embarrassingly, PSG continued to put out festive messages on social media on Thursday without any mention of Tuchel’s fate – while fans demanded the announcement of Argentine former Tottenham boss Pochettino, who is the strong favorite to step into the Parc des Princes dugout.
pic.twitter.com/jgThTTalED
Annonce Pochettino et profite de ta famille le CM ❤️
pic.twitter.com/mpBkA4YSmY
Pochettino spent two seasons as a player at PSG and is reportedly already close to sealing a deal to take over as manager at his former club.
Some reports state the two parties have been in talks for at least two weeks about a possible appointment.
The 48-year-old has been out of work since being sacked by Spurs in November 2019, after spending five years in North London during which he guided the team to a surprise Champions League final appearance in 2019 but ultimately failed to win any silverware.
Tuchel leaves PSG having led them to back-to-back Ligue 1 titles as well as domestic cup success, but without delivering the Champions League glory craved by the club’s big-spending Qatari owners.
