"Ronaldo was amazing in Manchester”: Former PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino reveals challenges of managing Messi, Mbappe and Neymar at PSG

Former Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino has opened up about his time at the French club. He spoke about managing top players in the club, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Neymar. Even though they are among the best players in the world, he said it was not easy to manage them together. Since they all play differently and have different expectations.

Pochettino explained that it was hard to create one system that suited all three players. He compared this to teams built around one big star, like Cristiano Ronaldo in Manchester United and Real Madrid and Lionel Messi in Barcelona, during their prime years. In those teams, everything was planned to support one main player. But at PSG, managing many superstars at the same time made things much more difficult.

Mauricio Pochettino explains tactical clash between PSG superstars

Mauricio Pochettino explained to The Overlap that teams featuring Cristiano Ronaldo at clubs like Real Madrid and Manchester United were structured entirely around his strengths. Similarly, Lionel Messi thrived at Barcelona because the system was designed to maximize his abilities. He said that such clarity made it easier for managers to get the best out of their star players.

However, the situation at PSG was very different. Pochettino explained in detail that Messi preferred a slower style of play. He liked building attacks patiently from the back. He also liked keeping possession and controlling the tempo of the game. On the other hand, Kylian Mbappe thrived in quick transitions. He wanted the ball played into open spaces so he could use his pace to beat defenders. Neymar added another layer of complexity, as he preferred to have the ball at his feet and dictate play himself.

The Argentine manager explained that it was almost impossible to satisfy all three at the same time. If the team focused on Messi’s style, Mbappe would struggle to find space for his runs. But if they played quickly for Mbappe, Messi would not be able to influence the game in his preferred way. Neymar, meanwhile, wanted constant involvement in possession-based play.

Even with these challenges, PSG still did quite well under Pochettino. He managed the team in 84 matches and won 56 of them.

Although it was not easy to handle such big stars together, Mbappe had said that playing with Messi was a special experience. He added that he missed having the Argentine in the team, especially because Messi had a special talent for finding him in space and creating chances to score easily.




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