‘Madness’: Pundit reacts after what happened at Mauricio Pochettino’s recent press conference at Chelsea

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Mauricio Pochettino has been criticised for a recent press conference at Chelsea in which it became apparent he had no idea who Malang Sarr is.

The Argentine was asked for an update on the Frenchman, but after a puzzled look, he was unable to provide an answer.

So, what has been said about the incident involving Mauricio Pochettino and Malang Sarr? Let’s take a look…

What’s the story?

Well, it was Kenneth Perez – formerly of Denmark and Ajax before turning to punditry – who described this as a moment of “madness” from the Chelsea boss.

Speaking on the Voetbalpraat program on ESPN, the 49-year-old said: “I really laughed at this moment. This is the core of the problem of players going to English clubs. At a press conference at Chelsea, Pochettino was asked about a player from his selection, Sarr. Pochettino looked at the journalists: who are you talking about? He looks at the press secretary: who is Sarr?

“That is a selection player, a player who earns £2m-a-year. The trainer has no idea that he is in the selection. Chelsea got him from France in 2020. He has been loaned to FC Porto (in the past), but this is indicative of the madness that is also happening in England rules.”

In truth, this incident did not reflect well on Pochettino or Chelsea.

Sarr, for whatever reason, was given a contract worth £100,000-a-week after arriving on a free transfer from OGC Nice in August 2020, so the 51-year-old should really be aware of such a high earner.

Mauricio Pochettino surely upset Malang Sarr after Chelsea press conference

Regardless of how much the 24-year-old earns, Pochettino should at least be aware of Sarr.

Clearly, Chelsea’s squad is still a bit too large, despite a lot of sales this summer.

In terms of player morale, we wouldn’t be surprised if Sarr was left feeling demoralised and embarrassed after hearing his own manager admit to not knowing who he is.

Hopefully, Chelsea use this remarkable moment as a reminder that their current approach to recruitment is strange, and also wholly unsustainable.