Al-Khelaifi hopes to reach a "quick agreement" with Galtier to train Saint-Germain

Qatari Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president of French football champion Paris Germain, revealed that he hopes to reach a "quick agreement" to sign Christophe Galtier, the current coach of Nice, to replace Argentine Mauricio Pochettino, in an interview with the French newspaper "Le Parisien" on Tuesday.

While Al-Khelaifi stated that he had never discussed with the former Real Madrid coach and French football star Zinedine Zidane to take over the coaching position, he said, “We chose a coach who will be the best for what we want to offer,” stressing negotiations with the current Nice coach, “I hope to reach an agreement quickly, but I respect Nice and President (Jean-Pierre) Rivares, everyone defends their interests."

Al-Khelaifi added that he was "fascinated" by Zidane, the "wonderful player" and the "exceptional coach": "We never spoke with him, either directly or indirectly," without excluding that this had happened by other personalities in Qatar, "when I say + we + It means Paris Saint-Germain. I am the president of Paris Saint-Germain and I have never discussed this with him."

And if his arrival in Paris is confirmed, the main task of Galtier (55) will be success in the Champions League, where all his predecessors have failed since 2011. With the Royal Club and the end of the next Pochettino in January 2021, who will not be able to honor his last year in his contract with Saint-Germain, despite his leadership to regain the local league title that he won the night before last season, led by Galtier in particular.

In an interview on Tuesday, the Qatari expressed his club's desire to enter a new turning point and get rid of the burning world of lights, after contracting with the most prominent international players in imaginary deals, "which is the end of the sparkle."

And if Galtier, the former defender who started his coaching career with Saint-Etienne in 2009, moves to Saint-Germain, he will meet again with Portuguese Luis Campos, who recently took over the job of sports advisor to succeed the Brazilian Leonardo, who was dismissed from his position.

Campos served as sporting director for the night between 2017 and 2020 when Galtier was coach of the team.

While Al-Khelaifi did not mention in his interview the name of Pochettino, the 50-year-old former coach of Tottenham Hotspur, he thanked Leonardo for his "great work": "We wish him the best. This is football ... I know many clubs that will take care of him because he has great experience."

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news