United get their man

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 champions 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 US 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. 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 US 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-energised by his experiences with the US, 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 US football federation of their intention to move for a coach, who did so much galvanise 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 rumours 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.

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 football.

Both United and Pochettino will hope that, together, they can snap that streak.