Laurent Blanc has led Paris Saint-Germain to three straight Ligue 1 titles, and three straight French League Cup and two straight French Cup triumphs in his three seasons at the helm of France’s richest club.
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Still, the 50-year-old former France manager might find himself unemployed by the end of the summer after his boss, PSG owner Nasser al-Khelaifi, labeled the club’s 2015-16 season a “failure” on Friday — all because Les Parisiens were knocked out in the quarterfinal round of the UEFA Champions League, by a fellow oil-rich behemoth, Manchester City of the Premier League — quotes from the Guardian:“Honestly, I think we failed this season despite winning domestic trophies. We did not reach our goal so this is a bad season. I have been here for five years and it is the first time that we have this feeling of failure.”
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“It’s not just the fact that we lost in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, it’s the way it happened. I am very disappointed. I did not feel there was pressure before the City games. This elimination is the worst moment since I have been in Paris. Two hours before the return leg I knew we were going to lose. I did not feel the players were ready. Whose fault is this?”
Given how little competition PSG face domestically — they wrapped up this year’s title on March 13, with eight games remaining in the campaign — it’s actually something of an overachievement to have reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League in four straight seasons. No one ever accused anyone rich enough to own a professional sports team of being practical or reasonable, though.