Mauricio Pochettino Breaks Silence Over PSG Future Amid Reports He Faces Sack After UCL Exit

For years, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) were dreaming and preparing to win the UEFA Champions League. The French outfit also had one foot in the quarter-finals of Europe's premier club competition after beating Real Madrid in the first leg of the Round of 16, but the Spaniards shattered their dream by overwhelming them 3-1 in Wednesday's return match.

PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino has broken his silence as speculation intensifies about his future at the Parc des Princes, admitting that his team's Champions League defeat to Real Madrid was tough to swallow.

The Argentine manager even confessed that the next few weeks will be extremely difficult for him in Paris.

"Paris St-Germain have been chasing the Champions League for a number of years now. I'm really disappointed, upset – but these things can happen. The next few weeks are not going to be easy," he said at the press conference after his side's Champions League defenestration.

"As for the future, what will be will be," the under-fire coach replied to a question as the French press seethed with rumours that he was due to be sacked.

Earlier, France's popular newspaper, 'Le Parisien', claimed that PSG's president Nasser Al-Khelaifi was furious after seeing his team implode at the Santiago Bernabeu, particularly in the second half.

PSG dominated the proceedings in the first half and even took a 1-0 lead over the hosts, courtesy of Kylian Mbappe's 39th-minute goal. However, everything suddenly changed after the break as the Spaniards launched an all-out attack on the French giants' goal post.

Though Pochettino's men survived the initial onslaught, their defenders eventually were no match for Karim Benzema who produced a scintillating hat-trick within a span of 17 minutes with his first goal coming in the 61st minute.

The 34-year-old footballer followed his first strike with a double in the 76th and 78th minutes.

The French media outlet said that Benzema's hat-trick has hastened the process of Pochettino and Sporting Director Leonardo Nascimento de Araujo's quitting the club because the Champions League remains a priority for PSG's president.

The defeat would have reminded Al-Khelaifi of PSG's 6-1 capitulation against Barcelona five years ago.

At that stage, the French team were also in control of their own fate, after having beaten the Catalan giants 4-0 in the first leg, but failed to capitalise before crashing out of the tournament.

Pochettino, however, has one more chance to redeem himself in the French capital with PSG still topping the charts in Ligue 1.

They are almost certain to win the French league as they have 62 points and are 13 points clear of second-placed Nice who have 49 points.