Mauricio Pochettino reignited ancient history with Thierry Henry as he called out the France legend for criticism he received while managing Lionel Messi at Paris Saint-Germain.
The US national team coach oversaw the former Barcelona star’s seismic transfer to the Parisian giants in 2021, just six months into his tenure in the dugout.
As Messi struggled to slot into PSG’s cohort of top talents including Neymar Jnr and Kylian Mbappe, Henry often questioned how Pochettino was setting up his team of megastars.
In an interview with L’Equipe nearly five years on, Pochettino was keen to set the record straight, emphasising that he found Henry’s critique, and that of other high-profile pundits to be ‘disrespectful’.
‘Thierry Henry, who was commentating for Prime, said he didn’t understand why Pochettino had put Messi on the right when he was better alongside Neymar,’ the former Tottenham manager explained.
‘To that, I replied: Pochettino and his staff didn’t deliberately send Messi to the right in the second half. Sometimes players find themselves in a defensive position to recover, to regain their freshness, and that was the case with Messi.
Mauricio Pochettino reopened old wounds as he discussed how ‘disrespected’ he had felt by pundits like Thierry Henry while at Paris Saint-Germain
The Argentine coach had struggled initially with where to fit his compatriot Lionel Messi into his team of superstars
‘So, if a former player like Henry criticises this situation and blames me for it, it causes an uproar. You hear: ‘This coach doesn’t know how to play Messi. He doesn’t know how to use Mbappe.’ (He laughs.)
‘That’s the kind of irresponsibility some people in football can adopt. The ideal target at PSG, the scapegoat, was the coach.’
Such was Pochettino’s frustration with being called out by Henry that he discussed it when the pair met in person.
When Henry is said to have questioned what he might actually be able to say, Pochettino was forthright.
‘He actually agreed with me and replied, “Well, what do you want me to do?” No! Not “what do you want me to do?” Don’t spread lies, that’s all,’ Pochettino continued.
‘Sometimes it’s things like that that hurt me the most. When you sign for PSG, it’s because you have a track record. It’s not to do me a favor. Nobody does you any favors in football.
‘I don’t care if people tell me I’m ugly, fat, or whatever. But lying… At that time, there was a lot of disrespect shown to us. I repeat: we had the necessary knowledge to create a solid structure to give Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe the opportunity to give their best. But, well, the decision was made to remove us.’
Pochettino suggested that even Henry had agreed with his frustration away from the cameras
Pochettino was shown the door in July 2022, less than one year on from his club’s swoop for Messi, despite having won his first Ligue 1 title that season.
Messi would go on to leave the following summer after two years at the club, joining MLS side Inter Miami – with Pochettino eventually following him Stateside to take up with the national team in 2024.
Amid preparations for a home World Cup this summer, Pochettino has seen his press conferences peppered with speculation about a return to club football by rejoining former club Spurs.
The Argentine manager has been keen to snuff out any suggestion that anything is distracting him in the lead-up to the tournament, but remained vague when asked about his future long-term.
