Mauricio Pochettino has been one of the best soccer managers over the years. The veteran has coached teams like Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the recent past. His latest stint as a manager is with the Premier League giants Chelsea.
The 51-year-old was appointed Chelsea’s boss in July 2023. Mauricio Pochettino has signed a contract with the club running till June 2025. In his first nine matches of managing Chelsea in the Premier League season 2023/2024, he has three wins, three losses, and three draws to his name.
The Argentinian manager has earlier managed Lionel Messi during his time at PSG. Messi played 34 matches under Pochettino. As per a published report, during his time with the club, the 51-year-old manager had something to say about Leo.
Mauricio reportedly stated – “Cristiano Ronaldo would have been a better fit for this PSG team than Messi”. The report further inflicts that he said – “with all due respect to Messi he fits better in the Barcelona system only”. It then expresses the manager’s wish for PSG to have signed Ronaldo instead.
🎙️ Mauricio Pochettino:
“Cristiano Ronaldo would have been a better fit for this PSG team than Messi. With all due respect to Messi he fits better in the Barcelona system only. I wish we had signed Ronaldo.” pic.twitter.com/r6TVVMIrNU
— Everything Cristiano 𓃵 (@EverythingCR7_) March 19, 2022
However, no conclusive evidence has been found for the authenticity of the report. The fans have further commented in the comments section of the published post that the 51-year-old manager never said these statements.
The current Chelsea manager has managed PSG in a total of 84 matches. His time at the Ligue 1 side was around about one and a half years. The Murphy-born manager was sacked from the club’s managerial position in July 2022. The former PSG manager won the Ligue 1 title in the 2021-2022 season with the club.
Mauricio Pochettino’s thoughts on comparison between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
The former PSG manager when faced with the tough question regarding Messi-Ronaldo collation, vented his personal opinion on the matter. He stated – “Messi is the type of player, for me the best in the world today, better than Cristiano Ronaldo”.
Poch further inflicted that according to him Messi can determine the outcome of a match. Progressively, the former Ligue 1 manager expressed that it is hard to change your perspective and state “Messi is better or Ronaldo is better”. He added to his statements and conveyed that “right now Messi is the best” firmly stamping his outlook.
The 51-year-old stated that his opinion wouldn’t have been different even if he hadn’t worked with Leo. The baffling question, regarding CR7 and Leo, has always been presented to some of the other greats of the game. It can be inferred that Poch was pretty clear in his views regarding the matter.