Unai Emery to leave Paris Saint-Germain at season's end
Paris Saint-Germain manager Unai Emery announced he will leave the French champion at the end of the season.
The Spanish manager, who took charge in 2016, helped PSG reclaim its Ligue 1 crown earlier this month after finishing behind AS Monaco during his first year at the helm.
Emery, as translated by Jonathan Johnson of ESPN FC, broke the news during Friday’s meeting with the media: “I have told the players, (sporting director) Antero (Henrique) & the president (chairman & CEO Nasser Al-Khelaifi) that it is finished. I thank everybody. All that remains is the Coupe de France final.”
The 46-year-old appears as though he could be headed back to Spain, with rumours suggesting that he will take over at Real Sociedad.
With his contract set to expire this summer, it was widely speculated that Emery and PSG would part ways following the club’s latest failure in the Champions League.
A year after PSG’s stunning loss to Barcelona when the Catalan side overturned at 5-1 first-leg defeat by winning 6-5 on aggregate in the round of 16, the capital-city side bowed out of this season’s competition with a 5-2 aggregate loss at the hands of Real Madrid.
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
Emery’s second season in charge began with towering expectations following the arrival Neymar for a world-record transfer fee. Kylian Mbappe followed suit after PSG struck a deal with Monaco for the French prodigy.
Neymar’s arrival from Barcelona predictably proved to be a massive boost for PSG, but Emery soon found himself at the centre of controversy when the Brazilian engaged in an altercation with the club’s record-goalscorer Edinson Cavani over who was responsible for taking a penalty.
Just over a week before PSG was set to face Real Madrid in the quarter-final, Emery’s hopes of progressing in the Champions League were dealt a massive blow when Neymar fractured a metatarsal bone in his right foot.
PSG went on to win to win the Coupe de la Ligue before clinching its fifth league title in six seasons with a 7-1 win over Monaco on April 15.
Emery, winner of three consecutive Europa League titles during his time with Sevilla, will now set his sights on winning the treble, as PSG gets set to take on third-tier side Les Herbiers VF in the Coup de France on May 8.
Meanwhile, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte and former Borussia Dortmund gaffer Thomas Tuchel are among the candidates who have been linked with taking charge at PSG ahead of the 2018-19 campaign.
