Zidane reaches PSG agreement, Poch heading to Man Utd
Robin Bairner
- 26 Nov 2021 10:48 GMT
- 3 min read
Former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has agreed to take charge at Paris Saint-Germain, according to reports from Qatar.
Zidane, who is expected to take command at PSG in the summer, will replace Mauricio Pochettino, who now appears destined for Manchester United after days of speculation following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
In the meantime, the Red Devils are closing in on Ralf Rangnick as an interim boss. He will take charge for six months before moving into a consultancy role.
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Rangnick could be appointed to the Old Trafford club within 24-48 hours, according to reports from Sky Sports.
However, it is likely that it will be significantly longer before Pochettino officially follows the German to Man Utd.
Previously, there had been some doubts over the move caused by Zidane’s refusal to take command of PSG in the middle of the season. With that in mind, the Ligue 1 side knocked back an approach from Man Utd for their head coach.
This impasse is set to be solved by the World Cup winner apparently agreeing to take charge of the club from next summer.
Khalifah Bin Hamad Al-Thani, who holds connections to PSG’s Qatari owners and correctly reported both Lionel Messi’s move to the club and Kylian Mbappe’s unsettled state, tweeted the news in the early hours of Friday.
“Things are agreed. Soon to be announced. Welcome Zezo [sic],” he said.
Zidane to PSG is a major surprise
Zidane’s move to PSG would come as a major surprise because it was considered that he was holding out for the France national team job, which is likely to become vacant after the 2022 World Cup, which will take place in a year.
Meanwhile, the 1998 World Cup star, who has won three Champions League trophies with Real Madrid, is considered to be the type of coach who would want a free rein over the club. Leonardo has proven to be an overbearing presence at sporting director, causing the sacking of Thomas Tuchel in December 2020.
Furthermore, Zidane’s ties to Marseille mean that he makes for an unlikely PSG boss.
