With the French Ligue 1 season set to kick off August 10, defending champions Paris Saint-Germain still find themselves without a manager…kind of.
Carlo Ancelotti remains under contract for another season at the Parisian giants, but he has long been public about his wishes to be released from that contract so he can be hired into the vacant position with Real Madrid.
Reports yesterday out of France were heavily linking current Russian national team manager Fabio Capello to the position, with Capello set to take the job on a 1-year contract so that PSG can continue its wooing of Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger. The Frenchman is out of contract with the Gunners after the upcoming season.
However, reports this morning by Italian paper Gazetta are now saying Capello has turned down the offer due to the length of the contract. The Italian’s son and lawyer Pierfilippo Capello met with the PSG front office (President Nasser Al Khelaifi and director of football operations Leonardo) today in Paris but the talks broke down when PSG would not increase the deal.
It’s not a surprise that the former England manager would wish for more job security, and if PSG wish to lock down someone more willing to complete the job than Ancelotti, they may have to give up their hopes for Wenger and look for a more long-term solution.
In addition, Sky Italy’s Tancredi Palmeri is saying the Russian FA also decided not to make things easy. They insisted their rule be met, which requires Capello gives them 2 months advance notice if leaving his position. That would push the Italian’s appointment back until mid-August, after the beginning of the new season, a delay PSG cannot afford.
Before Capello, PSG had been attempting to persuade Andre Villas-Boas to leave Tottenham, but he too turned down the offer. The club was reportedly willing to pay AVB’s £10 million ($15.7 million) buyout clause in his contract with Spurs. The Portugese 35-year-old and PSG’s director of football operations Leonardo share the same agent, so the easy connection was made. They were also hoping the move would attract coveted Spurs star Gareth Bale to come with his current manager.
