Mauricio Pochettino USMNT Manchester United interest, Digi Mart USA News: US men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino is interested in a move to Manchester United, according to multiple sources who told the Guardian, and those sources characterized the interest as mutual.
United are expected to sack head coach Michael Carrick after a disastrous start to their season that leaves them at risk of relegation from the Premier League, their worst opening to a campaign in four decades.
Securing Pochettino would be far from simple or inexpensive. His contract reportedly contains a release clause of about $10 million (£7.5 million), according to multiple sources familiar with the deal, a figure that would grow if United chose to retain his staff, including longtime assistant Jesús Pérez, who has worked with him for 16 years.
The Athletic first reported the details of the buyout.
Pochettino was hired by the US in 2024 and guided the USMNT to a last-16 finish at the 2026 World Cup, which by most accounts was a disappointment. US Soccer later extended his contract through 2030, with both sides expressing a shared belief and commitment to improving the fortunes of the men’s team and overhauling the federation’s approach to youth development.
After signing the renewal, Pochettino told reporters: “Every time we sign a contract, it’s to go to the last day of the contract. If we sign a four-year contract, we need to think to arrive there.
And we signed the contract because we really believe that we are going to be four years there. Because if not, it’s bad.
If we don’t believe in that process, if we don’t believe in that journey, why sign [for] four years? Only to be sure that we are going to receive a salary at the end of the month?
That is not nice. It’s not the way that we think.
We really signed that contract because we really believe that we can arrive to the end.”
He tempered those remarks by adding: “In life, nothing is sure. Less in football.”
The USMNT are days away from a pair of Concacaf Nations League matches against Haiti in Cincinnati and Miami, their first competitive fixtures of the 2030 qualifying cycle. Pochettino is scheduled to address reporters on Friday afternoon.
Pochettino has repeatedly expressed interest in returning to the Premier League during his time with the US. In September he told Sky Sports about the idea of winning the league and “building a project with the possibility of winning.” In late 2025 he told the BBC he believed the league was the best in the world and said, “of course I am missing it.
I am so happy in America but am thinking but also thinking one day to come back.”
Pochettino is also widely regarded as a coach who enjoys the day-to-day responsibilities of coaching and as an excellent man-manager who thrives in the daily rhythm of club life. He maintains a home in London and speaks glowingly of the UK and its football culture.
Most federations have contingency plans for the departure of a head coach, and US Soccer is no exception, especially given the repeated interest in Pochettino over the years. Before bringing the Argentine on board, US Soccer reached out to or spoke with several other high-profile candidates, most notably former Liverpool and current Germany boss Jürgen Klopp.
In the nearer term, several domestic candidates could fit the bill, including current U-23 head coach Steve Cherundolo. Nashville SC head coach and former US interim head coach BJ Callaghan could be another candidate close to home, having guided the MLS club to a league-record points total this season.
In some respects, there is no better time for Pochettino to depart. Doing so now would allow an incoming coach most of a four-year cycle to work with, and the federation would earn millions just months after Pochettino could have departed for free.
However, that feels highly unlikely, given his unusually close relationship with his assistants, particularly second-in-command Jesús Pérez. Pérez has served alongside Pochettino at every stop in his coaching career, from La Liga side Espanyol in 2010 through Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, PSG and Chelsea over the 15 years that followed.
Pochettino also has close bonds with his other assistants, including Miki D’Agostino and goalkeeper coach Toni Jiménez, who have been with the Argentine since the start.
