‘Lionel Messi plus Neymar plus Kylian Mbappe made everyone anticipate an enhanced version of all three, but you need a structure behind them. They were all born to be number one’ Mauricio Pochettino on his key Paris Saint-Germain challenge

Signing three of the planet’s best attackers for a run at the Champions League sounds like the stuff of Football Manager, but for Mauricio Pochettino, that was the reality during his stint at Paris Saint-Germain.

The French side’s frontline of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe was – on paper, at least – one of the most potent attacking tridents to ever be placed together, but the reality of the situation was something different.

Under Pochettino, PSG were not able to get over their Champions League hump despite this lavish outlay. With the Argentine now preparing for the World Cup as USA boss, he has opened up on the balancing act he faced during his time in the French capital.

Pochettino on the challenges of his Mbappe-Messi-Neymar frontline

“You have to look at the management of expectations,” Pochettino explains to FourFourTwo. “Messi plus Neymar plus Mbappe made everyone anticipate an enhanced version of all three, but you need a structure behind them.

“Those players were born to be number one, not to share the assists, penalties, goals and headlines. Managing that isn’t easy.”

Pochettino was appointed as PSG boss in January 2021 and would spend two-and-a-half years in charge of the club, winning the 2021/22 Ligue 1 title, plus the 2021 Coupe de France.

And while he was unable to steer the side to the Champions League title, he enjoyed the challenge of coaching three of the world’s best attackers.

“Coaching them was a pleasure,” he continues. “The thing is that they were all special, and having to divide that spotlight required humility. They did it. They behaved brilliantly and knew how to share space and the stage, privately and publicly.

“But as a staff, we suffered because after every game, the praise wasn’t always shared equally. That touches on a player’s ego. Without ego, none of them would have become what they are.

“Ego isn’t a negative trait. Without it, you don’t survive. You can’t become number one without that touch of selfishness. In their case, it meant combining three different moments in their careers – Mbappe needed a high tempo with space and verticality, Messi needed time to manage the play, and Neymar was a blend of everything but suffered numerous injuries.

“Bringing that together twice a week was complicated.”

One criticism aimed at PSG’s superstar attack was their work off the ball, but Pochettino insists that he never asked the trio to press more.

“That conversation never took place – it would have been inappropriate,” he insists. “You can’t have Messi, Mbappe and Neymar and demand they press like Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Desire Doue or Bradley Barcola. They’re different profiles.”

For more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.