Paris Saint-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel knows that without UEFA Champions League success this season, his tenure in the French capital will likely come to an end. That cold reality has led to sporting director Leonardo to start vetting potential replacements and one name is sure to shock.
According to Le10Sport, Leonardo spent more than an hour on the phone with Liverpool FC manager Jürgen Klopp! This comes on the heels of the Brazilian reportedly contacting Massimiliano Allegri about taking the manager position at PSG.
It’s believed that Leonardo and Klopp spoke before the holidays with the PSG executive outlining his vision of the PSG project. As expected, Klopp essentially said that he is happy at Liverpool and doesn’t intend to leave. The German did recently sign a two-year extension that will keep him with the Reds until 2024.
Let’s unpack this and try to decipher what is real and what isn’t.
First of all, I believe Leonardo is lining up potential replacements for Tuchel. PSG’s current manager wasn’t hired by Leonardo and he may want to bring in his own hire. Also, after last season’s debacle in the Champions League to Manchester United, Tuchel has zero room for error this season.
Allegri is currently unemployed and a top-tier manager, so I believe he has likely been contacted by PSG.
The entire Klopp angle though I don’t believe for a second. Why would Klopp take a call with Leonardo just a week after signing an extension with Liverpool? If that’s true, I would be worried if I were a Liverpool supporter. Did Klopp think Leonardo wanted his address to mail him some macarons for the holidays? Obviously it was about a job offer and Klopp taking the call should be troubling to Liverpool fans.
What this seems like to me is the media stroking Klopp’s and Liverpool’s ego at the expense of PSG. The Reds are the envy of the world right now and rightfully so. They’re running away with the Premier League and are the defending Champions League title holders. This article paints PSG in a negative light by assuming they’re already counting on not advancing far in the Champions League and that they want a manager they can’t have. “Money can’t buy everything” being the angle.
As expected, the news reached the English media who love nothing more than to read about a failing, desperate PSG. Unfortunately for them, fans like us can see right through reports like this. Although, it would be a way for Klopp to finally have the opportunity to manage Kylian Mbappé, whom he has said is too expensive for his current team to sign.
There is another Premier League manager PSG should target and that’s Pep Guardiola. Manchester City is having a lackluster season and if they fail in the Champions League, Guardiola may be open to a move across the English Channel.
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What a stupid f@@king article
Thanks for your insightful commentary.
Liverpool supporters won’t worry. They know Klopp is an honourable man who will always listen even if he does nothing about it
I don’t know…if PSG just signed Thomas Tuchel to an extension and then a report came out that he accepted a call from Bayern Munich I might be a little worried about that.
How exactly is rejecting a job offer via phone call supposed to be troubling?
Because Klopp just signed an extension. Why would he take a call from the president of another team?
Many reasons they’d wanna speak – the truth is they needs Klopp permission to talk with our throw in coach
What a piece of garbage writing! If the media wanted to make PSG look even more stupid than they are, they wouldn’t have named Klopp as the guy speaking to PSG. It would have been Guardiola who is more likely to leave Man City than Klopp.
“Even more stupid than they are?” Please explain.
I agree that Guardiola would have been the better candidate to use if the article was fabricated but maybe they thought Klopp’s name would get more clicks?
Klopp will not entertain a move. I believe he just signed a brand new deal keeping him at Liverpool for another 4 or 5 years.
Also, Klopp isn’t interested in PSG because it doesn’t have the right “family” type of atmosphere. He has to enjoy the club he works with as it is extremely important to him. It is why he signed the new deal at Liverpool. He is building a dynasty and might be around at LFC longer than most think.
How do you know what type of atmosphere PSG has? Also, Liverpool is not a “family.” It’s a for-profit business like all football clubs.
I’m with you that Klopp will stay, my only question is if the report is true, why did he even take the phone call?
Just to tell them those 2 magical words, “NOT INTERESTED”
That doesn’t seem like Klopp’s style.
What is Klopp’s style?