This past weekend, Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino decided to substitute Lionel Messi, which surprised the 34-year-old, considering the game had yet to have an outcome. Afterward, there was some criticism regarding the capital club boss’ decision.
During his press conference, the Argentine tactician explained what went into his decision to take out Messi. Pochettino stated that he witnessed Messi dealing with a nagging through the match and decided to take him off the pitch rather than risk any further damage.
Late Football Club pundit Geoffroy Garétier stated that Pochettino doesn’t need to justify his decisions to the media or anyone for the matter.
“He does what he wants, and I find that very good. He doesn’t have to justify himself. He can explain things to us. It is not specified in his contract that he must justify all his choices. He started by saying one thing that I found very good: “I make decisions, and I’m here for that,” it works, or it doesn’t work, it likes it, or it doesn’t, and then he goes into the details,” Garétier said.
“For me, he doesn’t even need to explain to me in detail to convince me because he’s the boss. And I find it very good at PSG, which is a difficult club, that there is a real boss. Once again, I repeat, the coach does not have to justify each of his choices.”
🗨️ "Mauricio Pochettino n'a pas à se justifier (…) Je trouve ça très bien qu'il y ait un vrai patron au PSG"
🗨️ "Oui mais il fallait faire ça depuis l'an dernier !" pic.twitter.com/2nz30BLYrv
— Late Football Club (@LateFootClub) September 21, 2021
