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Christophe Galtier: No longer coach at Paris Saint-Germain
Photograph:
Franck Fife / dpa
After just one year, French football champions Paris Saint-Germain have parted ways with their coach Christophe Galtier. We thank him and his assistants for their professionalism and dedication, according to an official statement.
The club did not give any reasons for the exit. At the end of June, Galtier was provisionally arrested in Nice. The investigation is about racism, which the star coach and his adopted son are accused of from Galtier's time as coach in Nice.
Previously, an e-mail had become public in which Nice's sporting director makes serious accusations against the coach. Galtier is said to have said that there were too many black and Muslim players in the Nice squad.
Disappointing season despite championship
However, the Parisian club management also has sporting reasons for a separation. True, PSG won the French championship for the eleventh time in a row last season. However, the team around superstars Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar often fell short of their potential.
In the cup, the Parisians failed in the round of 16 against Marseille, in the Champions League also in the round of 16 against Bayern Munich, which at that time was still coached by Julian Nagelsmann.
Nagelsmann, from whom Bayern had parted ways in March in a controversial way, had been brought into play in recent weeks as a possible successor to Galtier. Recently, however, there have been increasing signs that Luis Enrique, the former Spanish national coach, is making a new attempt at the Champions League title so longed for by the Qatari club management. Lionel Messi will not be available, he has now signed a new contract with Inter Miami in the USA.
A press conference is scheduled for Wednesday at the club grounds. Enrique is expected to be featured there.
Hba