PARIS SAINT GERMAIN coach Unai Emery has announced he will leave the French champions at the end of the season after two years at the club.
Emery said he met with PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and “we decided that we would not continue to work together.”
The 46-year-old Spaniard failed to guide PSG past the last 16 of the Champions League and he confirmed his decision to stand down at a press conference this afternoon.
Former Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel has been installed as the favourite to take over, but there will no doubt be speculation linking Arsene Wenger with the job.
Emery joined the Parisian giants in June 2016 after leading Sevilla to three successive Europa League triumphs. That European pedigree seduced PSG and their Qatari owners, for whom Champions League success remains the Holy Grail.
However, he has struggled to replicate that continental success at the Parc des Princes.
Last season, PSG were the victims of a remarkable comeback from Barcelona, who overturned a 4-0 first-leg deficit to advance to the quarter-finals. And they fell at the same last-16 stage again this term, this time to Real Madrid.
The Madrid defeat was widely seen as the tie that ended Emery’s chances of staying on, despite his side regaining the Ligue 1 title from Monaco earlier this month.
Speculation suggesting he was set to be sacked has intensified in recent weeks, with Tuchel now widely touted to be his successor.
But Emery has opted to leave on his own terms. Speaking in a news conference ahead of PSG’s clash with Guingamp on Sunday, Emery said: “I have communicated my departure to the players.
“I thank president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, sporting director Antero Henrique, the supporters and the players for these past two seasons.”
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