Mauricio Pochettino ‘will reunite Lionel Messi with Neymar at PSG’ as French giants prepare to announce the former Tottenham boss to replace Thomas Tuchel
Mauricio Pochettino will be the manager who will finally reunite Lionel Messi and Neymar on the football field, according to reports in France.
Pochettino is poised to return to management more than 12 months after being fired from Tottenham, replacing the recently deleted Thomas Tuchel at Parc Des Princes.
And now it will be Pochettino who takes the bold move to bring Messi out of Barcelona and bring him forward to resume a strike partnership with his close friend Neymar, Le Parisien reported.
Lionel Messi is being asked to finally reunite with Neymar and join PSG this summer
Mauricio Pochettino is set to be revealed and is said to be ready to strike a Messi deal
Messi can leave Barca for free at the end of the season and is widely expected to retire at Nou camp after a troubled summer in which a transfer request was flatly denied.
Barca had been personally informed by an official Messi burofax that they wanted to exercise a clause in their contract to leave for free, despite the Spanish giants successfully arguing that this had been requested after a deadline had expired.
Now, having stayed at Barca under new boss Koeman, Messi is set to weigh his options for the immediate future.
Messi is set to leave at the end of the season following his failed summer exit
The star stayed and plays under Ronald Koeman but didn’t look like a happy man
And Pochettino has been referred to as the man set to strike a deal for the Argentine star to give him the intent to start a responsible reign at PSG and realize serious ambitions in the Champions League.
It is reported that PSG are hoping to use Messi’s pre-existing friendships within the club to close a deal and prevent the living football legend from moving to Manchester City instead to meet with Pep Guardiola.
Messi and Neymar have remained close friends since leaving Barca. Messi had previously tried to use his influence to bring his former teammate back into the club.
Messi is also close friends with Angel Di Maria, who is well known from international service.
Looking ahead, a move to Messi would ease the pressure on PSG over the possible loss of French sensation Kylian Mbappe later. The 22-year-old is said to have chosen Real Madrid next summer.
Pochettino is also expected to strike an agreement for Dele Alli to move to the French capital
A deal for Messi could be one of several big moves overseen by Pochettino, who is now also keen to reach an agreement to bring his former star midfielder Dele Alli from Spurs to the French capital in an initial loan deal.
However, the main obstacle for PSG in signing Messi will come in the form of Barca’s upcoming presidential election, which will take place early next year and will identify Josep Maria Bartomeu’s successor.
There are several candidates facing each other in the January 24 election, and so far all of these individuals have said that the 33-year-old talisman is in their plans.
