PSG plan Guardiola, Xavi bid to secure Neymar, Mbappé stay

Thomas Tuchel appears to be on thin ice in Paris with the PSG manager apparently at loggerheads with Kylian Mbappé and Neymar and the rumblings in the French media are that nothing short of Champions League glory will ensure the German tactician remains at the Parc des Princes next season.

PSG face Dortmund, Tuchel’s former club, in the last 16 as they seek a place in the quarter-finals for the first time since the 2015-16 season. The pairing may be seen as an advantage given Tuchel’s intimate knowledge of the club and Dortmund’s own waning faith in their manager, Lucien Favre, but it is a double-edged sword for Tuchel, with Damocles constantly lurking in the shadows of the Parc des Princes. Fail to beat the Bundesliga side over two legs and it will be curtains for Tuchel.

PSG's play for Neymar, Mbappé stay

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And according to reports in France, PSG have already come up with an alternative designed to solve all of their problems in one fell stroke: luring Pep Guardiola and Xavi to Paris as a coaching dream team. The Parc des Princes board see the prospect of reuniting the former all-conquering Barcelona duo as the perfect route to European glory and also a way of persuading Neymar and Mbappé that their personal objectives can be achieved in Paris. Both players are out of contract in 2022 and have been linked with Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, but PSG are confident that the prospect of working with Guardiola and Xavi will be enough to persuade PSG’s prized assets to consider their options.

As ambitious as it may be, PSG may be in a position to pull it off: Guardiola is widely believed to be winding down at Manchester City after three and a half seasons in charge while Xavi’s first foray into management has not gone entirely smoothly, the former Barça midfielder facing calls from Al Sadd fans to leave that will hardly be dimmed by a 6-2 drubbing at the hands of Espérance de Tunis at the Club World Cup.