French Football journalist Julien Laurens says Mauricio Pochettino failed to make his squad in to a "proper team" during his time at Paris Saint-Germain but admits any calibre of manager would have struggled in those circumstances.

Pochettino, who captained the club during his time as a player, joined halfway through the 2020-2021 season, leaving 18 months later after winning the Ligue 1 title.

"He mostly struggled in his 18 months at the club," Laurens said on BBC Radio 5 Live's Euro Leagues podcast. "He struggled at times with the egos in the dressing room - not so much in his first six months when he only had Kylian Mbappe and Neymar - but when Messi arrived, it was too much for him.

"The players liked him. It's not so much that he didn't have the respect or authority of the dressing room, there was just so much going on in the dressing room between players. At times I think he felt a little bit overwhelmed by those dynamics and egos.

"I think that he felt it was difficult to try and implement his ideas and philosophy. We never got to see 'Poch ball' or something close to what we saw at Spurs. That was never going to happen because the dressing room was far too different.

"With Messi, Mbappe and Neymar in the squad, he never managed to make that squad in to a proper team. On paper it could be the greatest front three ever assembled, but from day one he thought it was going to be tricky. I don't think even the best of the best [managers] would have succeeded with those three."