Pochettino opens up on challenges of coaching Messi and Mbappé at PSG

Argentine football manager, Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that he faced difficulties managing Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé during his tenure as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) head coach.

According to him, both players had contrasting styles of play. Messi preferred the team to build from the back, allowing him to dribble and create chances, while Mbappé demanded the ball in open spaces to exploit his pace and score goals.

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“Look, Messi wanted to build from the back, slow, with quality, combinations, bam, bam, bam… because he has the ability to take the ball and beat one, two, three players."

"But Mbappé… when we were deep and recovered the ball, he would look for space, saying, ‘Hey, give me the ball and I’ll run!’” Pochettino explained on The Overlap.

The current manager of the United States men’s national team noted that this difference in approach created controversy over the tactical strategies he employed.

The former Tottenham Hotspur coach added that the two players were not comfortable with each other’s preferred style, forcing him to find ways to create cohesion.

“If we played for Mbappé, we could not play for Messi. But when we played for Messi, Mbappé would say: ‘No, I don’t have time. My quality is to run into space.’ That’s the important thing you need to understand. Then you try to create an idea, but the most difficult part is for the players at the back, the midfielders,” he said.

Watch the interview below:

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