“Real Madrid was my death sentence”
Pochettino, in an interview with L’Équipe, declared that the Champions League elimination against Real Madrid sealed his fate in Paris.
Mauricio Pochettino left PSG four years ago under a cloud. The Argentine coach, now managing the United States national team, admitted in an interview with L’Équipe that the tie against Real Madrid was “his death sentence” on the Parisian bench. In 2022, Madrid staged a remarkable comeback in the Champions League round of 16, shattering Qatar’s Galáctico-style project at Paris Saint‑Germain with Lionel Messi as its marquee star.
“We just needed a bit of luck at the Bernabéu in the second leg of the round of 16 (1-3). At the Parc des Princes, in the first leg, we beat Real Madrid (1-0). In the second leg, we were winning until the 61st minute, when Karim Benzema fouled Gianluigi Donnarumma. The defeat in Madrid was my death sentence,” the Argentine coach said.
He added: “In Madrid, we were winning 1-0 and a second goal by Kylian Mbappé was disallowed for a marginal offside. The team was playing well before that refereeing error. Then we sat back and lost.”
Pochettino says he holds no grudge against PSG and believes his time in the French capital was not as poor as it has often been portrayed from the outside: “Paris remains a fond memory. Perhaps people forget, but if we put things in perspective, we arrived in January with COVID, several injured players, and a team third in Ligue 1. The situation didn’t meet the standards of a newly arrived coaching staff. However, we eliminated FC Barcelona (4-1 in the first leg, 1-1 in the second), Bayern Munich (3-2 and then 0-1), and reached the Champions League semi-finals against Manchester City without Mbappé in the second leg (1-2, 0-2). The team transformed the following summer, and we played well after that,” he said.
The current US national team coach arrived at PSG in 2021. In his first season, he lost the Ligue 1 title to Lille OSC. In his second year, the club backed by Qatar reshaped the transfer market by signing stars such as Messi, Donnarumma, and Sergio Ramos. However, Pochettino’s team fell to Real Madrid in the Champions League after Los Blancos’ dramatic comeback, and he left Paris with the Ligue 1 title in 2022.
Mauricio Pochettino drops his roster ahead of the USMNT’s final matches before the World Cup squad selection 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/7gJ7VV8hQY
— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 17, 2026
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