Laurent Blanc’s agent has confirmed that the Paris Saint-Germain manager will leave the club this week, with Unai Emery the favourite to replace him.
Blanc led PSG to glory in Ligue 1, the French Cup and the French League Cup this season, but his side were beaten by Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Emery, the former Sevilla manager, has enhanced his reputation in recent years after guiding Sevilla to Europa League glory for three years in a row plus he guided the club to a seventh-placed finish in La Liga last season.
As reported by the Guardian, Blanc’s agent said:
“Before the end of the week, PSG and Laurent Blanc will be parted.”
Blanc was appointed as PSG manager in 2013, and won the Ligue 1 title in each of his three seasons in charge, but the club’s lack of European success is the reason he is getting sacked. Despite all the domestic success, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi wants to win the European Cup.
Getting knocked out at the quarter-final stage repeatedly is not what the Qatar ownership wants. The last straw for them was being knocked out of the European Cup last season by Manchester City, who are financed by Abu Dhabi United Group, a rival of Qatar.
This is set to be a summer of overhaul for PSG, particularly with the club also losing the services of striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is out of contract at the end of this month and is widely expected to join Jose Mourinho at Manchester United.
Given PSG’s financial resources, Emery could be able to spend lavishly in the transfer market this summer in an attempt to bolster the squad.
