Inside Manchester United's move to prise Mauricio Pochettino away from the US national team
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — From the moment Manchester United executives were made aware of Mauricio Pochettino’s availability, he stood alone — the only candidate as the troubled club set about hiring a new coach.
With results tanking and the 20-time English champion languishing in the Premier League relegation zone, something had to be done.
Who could revive the fortunes of the once dominant force after more than a decade of decline?
In the end it came down to a choice of one. Unfortunately for the U.S. men's national team, it was Pochettino.
On Friday, the Argentine was confirmed as United’s eighth manager or head coach since club great Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. He has signed a two and a half-year contract.
United's hierarchy had initially assumed Pochettino, like Aston Villa's Unai Emery, was out of reach.
Emery also has big admirers at United after transforming Villa from a relegation-threatened team to a serial Champions League challenger, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to protect relationships. But the Spaniard, under contract and without a release clause, was simply not an option.
The same was thought of Pochettino after he signed a four-year deal in August tying him to the U.S. team through the 2030 World Cup.
United knew him well. He had been a leading candidate for the job in 2022 when Erik ten Hag was ultimately hired. And he left a lasting impression as recently as the summer of 2024 when, under a new sporting leadership, United considered firing Ten Hag and spoke to a range of contenders, Pochettino included.
It was determined then — on both sides — that the timing wasn't right so soon after his brief spell in charge of Chelsea, the person said.
Now, with Pochettino re-energized by his experiences with the U.S., including a run to the round of 16 at this year’s World Cup, the timing is right.
United set about securing the former Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea coach once it was made aware of a break clause in his recently signed contract, with due diligence carried out before incumbent Michael Carrick was fired on Thursday.
Confident that Pochettino wanted to take on what has increasingly looked like an impossible job, it was a matter of informing the U.S. soccer federation of its intention to move for a coach, who did so much galvanize the nation during the World Cup. That formal approach came on Wednesday, the night before Carrick was relieved of his duties, the person said.
By that stage rumors had already been swirling around Pochettino and the odds on him to become United's eighth permanent coach or manager in 13 years had been slashed. He was the only candidate United spoke to directly, despite reported interest in Julian Nagelsmann, Eddie Howe and Antonio Conte.
The 54-year-old Argentine is “renowned for his high-intensity, attacking style of football, his dedication to building strong, cohesive teams and his outstanding record of developing individual players,” and had “consistently performed at the highest level of football across multiple leagues,” United said when announcing his appointment Friday.
There has been criticism of United's handling of the process, making Carrick wait until Thursday to learn his fate that had been long-trailed.
The delay had been due to various reasons. Firstly, no decision could be made until an internal review had been carried out. The person said Carrick had been kept informed about the process.
It wasn't until a meeting with minority owner Jim Ratcliffe in Monaco on Wednesday that chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox made the recommendation to change the coach and the decision was made. Berrada and Wilcox returned to Manchester on Wednesday night and rather than inform Carrick by phone, chose to tell him face-to-face at a meeting at the club's training ground on Thursday morning, according to the person's description of events.
It is unlikely to have come as a surprise to Carrick, even if he was less than six months into a two-year contract.
He had overseen United's worst start for 40 years. With only one win in 10 games the 20-time English champion sits 18th in the standings, in the relegation zone.
Another person with knowledge of the decision-making process said the results were simply “not acceptable for Manchester United” and a change had to be made.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to do so publicly.
Pochettino, the person said, had the right a “philosophy, personality and skill set” that was the right fit for the role. His “outstanding record of individual talent development and history of building excellent team cultures” were also reasons behind his appointment.
His first game in charge will be against Liverpool on Nov. 22. He will be the latest in a long line of candidates charged with the responsibility of bringing the good times back to a club that for so long dominated English soccer.
United has not won the Premier League title since Ferguson's final season in 2013 and has been overtaken by rivals like Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal.
Pochettino, who won the French title with PSG and turned Tottenham into a Premier League title challenger, had an underwhelming experience when last in England for one season with Chelsea in 2023-24.
Chelsea ended sixth in the standings, missing out on Champions League qualification and beaten by Liverpool in the final of the English League Cup to leave Pochettino still without a major trophy in English soccer.
Both United and Pochettino will hope that, together, they can snap that streak.
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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
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