Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino has admitted he is currently in a “storm” following reports about Lionel Messi’s unhappiness with his management of the team
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Mauricio Pochettino has spoken about the current situation at Paris Saint-Germain following a few disappointing results and rumours surrounding Lionel Messi.
Pochettino has been put under pressure at PSG after successive draws in Ligue 1 highlighted apparent fractions within the dressing room.
PSG remain 11 points clear at the top of Ligue 1 despite back-to-back draws against Lens and Nice, but negative press has been impossible to shake off for Pochettino.
Much of that has stemmed from Messi, who is reportedly unhappy and not convinced by his manager’s ability to guide PSG to a successful season.
Pochettino has a star-studded squad in Paris following the summer acquisitions of Messi, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Sergio Ramos, Achraf Hakimi and Georginio Wijnaldum.
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But finding the right balance, with Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe up front, has proved difficult in the Champions League, where PSG have won just two of their five games this season.
Their bumpy progress has led L’Equipe to claim that Messi and his associates fear Pochettino does not have full control of the dressing room and has lost the respect of a number of senior players.
PSG play Club Brugge in their final match of the Champions League group stage on Tuesday – and with a place in the quarter-finals already assured thanks to a four-point buffer, Pochettino is unfazed by the team’s situation.
“I’m feeling good, I’m calm,” he said in his pre-match press conference on Monday.
“I am working in an organisation which is aware of the work we are putting in. I’m feeling the club’s support.
“I’m calm because I know the process we’ve set out on.”
He added: “You have what’s happening on the pitch but also internally, in the adaptation, communication, and the fact that links are being created.
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“We know that in a club like PSG, on which the light shines very brightly, rumours are part of our life.
“In the middle of these storms, we will never stray away from our ideas. Because we know that after the storm, the sun will come out.
“And then we’ll be able to make those who love the club benefit from our work.”
The L’Equipe report claims that Messi believes Pochettino’s game plan is “too restrictive” and fails to play to the strengths of the team’s star players.
Messi has three goals in four Champions League games so far this season, but has managed to score just once in nine Ligue 1 matches since his summer move from Barcelona.
Pochettino has been in charge of PSG for 11 months and that time has been peppered with rumours of a Premier League return for the former Tottenham boss.
Manchester United are understood to be huge fans of the Argentine and have previously explored the idea of hiring him as manager .
Rumours swirled when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked last month and the appointment of Ralf Rangnick on a six-month deal until the end of the season has sparked the possibility that United move for Pochettino in the summer.
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