Laurent Blanc will likely leave Paris Saint Germain this week, his agent told French radio station Europe 1 on Monday. Asked directly if Blanc would leave by the end of the week, Jean-Pierre Bernes replied: "I think so." He said: "We're in discussions with PSG directors and it's being done in an excellent atmosphere from both sides. "Simply put, there are rules that need to be respected to end a contract and PSG are respecting those." Blanc signed a two-year contract extension in February but is set to be replaced by Spaniard Unai Emery, who led Sevilla to three straight Europa League titles, according to press rumours. Bernes's statement comes just a week after Emery quit Sevilla. Blanc won the domestic treble in each of his last two seasons with PSG, having won the French Ligue 1 crown in all four seasons and added another League Cup in 2014. But it was his failure to progress past the Champions League quarter-finals that proved his undoing. Qatari club owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi hinted earlier this month that Blanc's time was up. "The players, the coach, the management, we need turnover, a new cycle," he told the Le Parisien newspaper. Al-Khelaifi was particularly unimpressed with the limp manner PSG lost to Manchester City in the Champions League this season. "This elimination is the worst moment since I came to Paris," he said of that 3-2 aggregate defeat. Before coaching the Parisians, Blanc led Bordeaux to the 2009 French title and coached France for two years, although they lost to Spain in the European Championships quarter-finals in 2012. A week ago, Emery told Sevilla of his intention to unilaterally terminate his contract with them. Spanish press claim he has received an offer from PSG that is too good to refuse. But the French press say it will cost the Ligue 1 champions 20 million euros ($22.6 million) to pay off the final two years of Blanc's contract. Emery has a wealth of coaching experience including Valencia, Spartak Moscow and Almeria, although his only silverware has been with Sevilla. (For more sportsnews andupdates, followAhramOnlineSportson Twitter at@AO_Sportsand onFacebookatAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/223484.aspx
