PSG and Pochettino agree to divorce: report

Reports are swirling around Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain FC and their manager, Mauricio Pochettino, with whom they have reportedly agreed to part ways. The Argentine still has a contract with the club until 2023, but it has long been speculated that they are heading for an early divorce.

While PSG lifted the Ligue 1 trophy again this year, the main reason why the club heirarchy is unhappy is because of the fact that they have once again failed to win the UEFA Champions League. Last summer, they acquired the services of La Liga superstars Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos, who had won numerous Champions League titles during their stints with FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, respectively.

The club also signed European Championship hero Gianluigi Donnarumma to back up another Champions League winner, Keyor Navas, but that did not work either.

Eighteen months since joining PSG, time may have run out for Pochettino. Speculations have been rife about his possible departure for many months. A meeting has reportedly taken place last week, and a final decision has been made.

The Athletic claims that PSG are still sore about failing to get past eventual winners Real Madrid, who eliminated them from the Champions League in the Last 16. the tension has been high between the two clubs all year, due largely to the tug-of-war for striker Kylian Mbappe.

PSG eventually convinced the Frenchman to stay at the Parc des Princes, but that does little to take away the sting of their elimination from the prestigious European competition. In other words, someone had to take the fall for the disappointment, and it seems that Pochettino has been the man in the line of fire.

The club will likely have to offer a severance package for the manager, whose contract will be prematurely terminated if the reports are true. PSG's Qatari owners can certainly afford to do that, with enough funding funneling into the club from the Middle Eastern state.

There will be a massive overhaul at PSG, with sporting director Leonardo also making his way to the exit.

Meanwhile, former Real Madrid manager and three-time Champons League winner Zinedine Zidane was being mooted as Pochettino's replacement. Apart from his proven success on the European stage as a manager, he also scored a crucial goal in 2002 to win the title as a player.

Zidane has all the credentials to make a great replacement, but his camp has repeatedly denied a move to PSG. Nice manager Christopher Galtier is also in the shortlist, along with Roma manager Jose Mourinho.