Mauricio Pochettino sack claim made after Lionel Messi jets to PSG from Barcelona

La Liga ‘lacking star player’ after Messi’s Barcelona exit

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Mauricio Pochettino is set to come under intense scrutiny for the coming season according to former Premier League striker Darren Bent. The PSG boss is awaiting the arrival of Lionel Messi, who is on a flight to Paris to complete a famous move from Barcelona after efforts to renew the Argentine’s contract collapsed last week.

Messi, considered by many to be the greater player of all time, is reportedly on his way to France to put pen to paper on a two-year deal.

The move has been confirmed by Jorge Messi, his father and agent, as the deal would see his son earn £20million for the next two years, with the option to extend for another.

Barcelona were unable to afford his extortionate wages, despite a proposed 50% pay cut which the diminutive goal-machine accepted.

In the aftermath of his dramatic exit from the Camp Nou, the player allegedly reached out to his compatriot, Pochettino, to discuss a move to the French capital.

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Things have moved extremely quickly since, and PSG fans could welcome their new arrival within the next few hours.

Although Pochettino is set to be landed with a remarkable talent, the pressure will be dialled up significantly for next season.

At least according to Darren Bent, who told talkSPORT: “When you add Messi to the mix, every time they step on the pitch, everyone is going to want to beat them.

“If Pochettino doesn’t win absolutely everything: sacked.”

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Granted, the pressure will be on the manager to produce, but he should have also earned extra brownie points for being instrumental in Messi’s move to begin with.

According to The Athletic, Messi is the one who reached out to him, quite the claim for Pochettino who has been in charge of PSG for less than a year.

The former Spurs boss arrived in France under the weight of great expectations, although his first season did not go to plan.

Despite a vast gulf in financial backing, Lille pipped them to the Ligue 1 title, and they were also convincingly knocked out of the Champions League by Man City.

European success has been deemed paramount by the PSG hierarchy, and if they didn’t before, they now undoubtedly have the firepower to lift the trophy.

Pochettino also has a much tougher job when it comes to man-management, with Messi’s head still in Barcelona and Kylian Mbappe out of contract in a year’s time.

Having such talent at his disposal ups the stakes significantly. In terms of accolades, Pochettino has the tools to win everything under the sun, but a fall from grace would be felt twice as hard.

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