Mauricio Pochettino career at crossroads after paying price for Euro failure at PSG

Mauricio Pochettino’s second departure from Paris Saint-Germain, where he was on Thursday finalising the pay-off for severing his contract as manager, feels a little like his first. He was captain 19 years ago when he played his last match for the club, came tantalisingly close to fulfilment in it, but left deeply disappointed.

In the 2003 French Cup final against Auxerre, PSG took an early lead. Fourteen minutes from time, a lob over the head of Pochettino invited the Auxerre striker Djibril Cisse to equalise. With a minute of normal time left, he was slumped to his knees as Auxerre scored a second.

“We can’t be happy with the season,” a deflated Pochettino, long-haired and long-faced, told reporters. Both he and the club’s then star, Ronaldinho, would soon be heading off to play their club football in Spain.

Pochettino’s next job in management may yet be in Spain. Among those bidding for the presidency of Athletic Bilbao is a candidate who wants the Argentinian as manager.

A few months ago, ‘Poch’ was being eyed as a contender to take over at Manchester United, although they opted instead for Erik ten Hag. Real Madrid have also had him on potential shortlists, although events of recent months pushed the idea of a new coach off their radar. What all these suitors knew was that Pochettino would not be at PSG beyond this summer.

He will leave a year short of the end of his deal, with a Ligue 1 title freshly achieved, plus the 2020-21 French Cup victory from his first half-season back in Paris. But he has never seemed entirely at ease at a club of soaring ambition, huge spending power and a vastly different corporate character – since the 2011 takeover by Qatari owners – from the PSG he played for.

Coaches tend not to stay