Paris Saint-Germain will have a multitude of crucial decisions to make in the coming months. For one, PSG club officials will have to decide on whether they will keep manager Christophe Galtier for next season.
Galtier’s future at PSG has been in question since the reigning Ligue 1 champions crashed out of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 at the hands of Bayern Munich. PSG comfortably sits atop the Ligue 1 standings with an eight-point lead over second-place side Olympique de Marseille, but the team’s early Champions League exit sure left a sour taste in the mouths of club officials.
PSG has been linked with multiple managers as of late, from AS Roma manager Jose Mourinho to Bologna manager Thiago Motta. From CBS Sports reporter and PSG Talk columnist Jonathan Johnson’s standpoint, he believes that Motta would be an ideal candidate to replace Galtier, who has a mere one more year left on his contract at PSG.
“Thiago Motta is a strong candidate to replace Galtier, which would not only be a move towards a much younger boss, but also one with prior knowledge of the club, how it works, and the academy, given that he oversaw the youth team post-playing career,” Johnson wrote in his weekly Substack column on PSG Talk Extra Time. “With that in mind, the Brazil-born former Italy international could probably not only survive in the atmosphere but perhaps even thrive.”
Johnson added that Motta is a manager who has what it takes to win over the PSG locker room.
“Motta learned how to love PSG and the French capital as a player and also played for some of the biggest names in the managerial game, including Carlo Ancelotti, who was his first boss in Paris when he was signed back in 2012 by Leonardo in his first spell as sporting director,” Johnson said. “Bringing him back now as a young head coach on the up could be a smart move.
“Kylian Mbappe did not play alongside Motta as the former arrived as the latter left, but Messi will recall their days together at Barcelona while captain Marquinhos and ex-partner in crime Marco Verratti in midfield will remember him fondly. Crucially, that should lead to a global level of respect in the locker room, which has not been present for some time.”
Motta is currently in his first season as manager of Serie A side Bologna. The Italian manager has guided Bologna to a current eighth place standing in the Serie A table with 44 points through 30 matches played.
