The 55-year-old Frenchman, who according to a source familiar with the matter has signed up for two seasons with the French champion, will be presented at a press conference at 2:00 p.m. at the Parc des Princes.

He is the symbol of a new approach, less "bling-bling", for the Parisian club even if the former coach of OGC Nice still has a luxury workforce.

It therefore took a month and a half, after the resounding announcement of the extension of superstar Kylian Mbappé, for the flagship of Qatar Sport Investment (QSI) to complete the almost complete overhaul of its organization chart.

Asked by AFP, PSG did not confirm the signing of its new technician, nor the departure of its Argentinian predecessor after only a year and a half at the helm.

But on Monday evening, he also did not seek to hide the arrival of Galtier in front of the cameras of the fans and the media, alongside the new sports adviser Luis Campos, in the courtyard of the "Factory", the administrative headquarters of the club in Boulogne-Billancourt, south-west of Paris.

Regular but inexperienced

The Campos-Galtier duo knows each other well for having worked in Lille, laying the groundwork for Losc's surprise title in Ligue 1 in 2021. It must symbolize the "end of glitter" and the return to "reality" promised by the Parisian president. Nasser Al-Khelaïfi in an interview with Le Parisien.

Christophe Galtier, new coach of PSG AFP

The Qatari leader has chosen to hire one of the most regular technicians of the last decade in France, but probably also the least experienced coach on the European scene of the QSI era.

"Galette" was snatched from Ineos' Nice project, after a single correct, but not extraordinary, season.

The technician took his team to the final of the Coupe de France, lost against Nantes (1-0), and to 5th place in L1, synonymous with the Europa League Conference.

The negotiations were tough: it was first necessary to find a financial agreement with the Nice club, reluctant to let go of its free coach, despite a mixed season.

Then negotiate the departure of Pochettino and his staff, who had one year of contract left: this part of the file prevented PSG from formalizing the arrival of Galtier earlier, even though Nice had announced his departure since 27 June.

3rd French of the QSI era

At the same time, the tenacious rumor of the arrival of Zinedine Zidane was difficult to extinguish.

President Al-Khelaïfi tried to do so in an interview with the daily Le Parisien, assuring that he had "never" explored this track, preferring a coach "who will be the best for what we want to put in place" .

Galtier becomes the 3rd Frenchman of the Qatari era after Antoine Koumbouaré, quickly landed in 2011, and Laurent Blanc (2014-16).

Reputed to be a good leader of men, even if he has never had so many stars under his command (Messi, Neymar, Mbappé ...), this native of Marseilles has a lot to prove: he suffers from European experience limited, with no victory in six Champions League games, the obsession of Qatari owners.

Known for relying on solid defenses and very fast counterattacks, Galtier will quickly be able to communicate his plans to the big names of the Parisian group: the players are indeed making their comeback in dribs and drabs since Monday at the training center, with the resumption Tuesday of Neymar, Marquinhos and Keylor Navas, after that, Monday, of Marco Verratti, Sergio Ramos, Mauro Icardi or Georginio Wijnaldum.

The preparation of the Parisians for the 2022/23 season will go through a friendly match against Quevilly-Rouen (L2) on July 15 (5:00 p.m.), then a tour of Japan from July 16.

The first official meeting is scheduled in Tel Aviv for the Champions Trophy, July 31 against Nantes.

© 2022 AFP