Mauricio Pochettino is interested in leaving his role as head coach of the United States men’s national team for Manchester United, and people familiar with the situation describe the interest as mutual. No agreement is in place, and Pochettino has not publicly addressed the vacancy at Old Trafford.
Any approach would be neither straightforward nor cheap. Pochettino’s contract contains a release clause of about $10 million (£7.5 million), and that figure climbs if United also want to bring his backroom staff, including longtime assistant and confidant Jesús Pérez, who has worked alongside Pochettino for 16 years.
The opening at United is expected to arise imminently. Head coach Michael Carrick is expected to be sacked after a disastrous start that has left the club at risk of relegation from the Premier League — the worst opening to a season in four decades.
A World Cup exit and a new contract
Pochettino was hired by U.S. Soccer in 2024 and guided the national team to a round-of-16 finish at the 2026 World Cup, a result that by most accounts fell short of expectations. The federation subsequently brought him back through 2030, with both sides stating a shared commitment not only to improving the men’s team’s fortunes but to overhauling U.S. Soccer’s approach to youth development.
After signing the extension, Pochettino told reporters that he treats contracts as commitments running to their final day, and that he would not have signed a four-year deal without believing in the project. “In life, nothing is sure,” he added. “Less in football.”
Since arriving in the United States, Pochettino has been linked with a series of high-profile club vacancies, and the Manchester United situation is the latest to test that stated commitment.
Nations League fixtures ahead
The USMNT are days away from two Concacaf Nations League matches against Haiti, in Cincinnati and Miami — the team’s first competitive fixtures of the 2030 qualifying cycle. Pochettino is scheduled to address reporters on Friday afternoon, his first public appearance since the United job came into play.
For U.S. Soccer, the timing is awkward: a coaching change would land in the middle of a competitive window and just as the federation begins the long build toward a World Cup it will co-host. For United, the calculation is financial as well as sporting, with the release clause and the cost of installing an entire staff set against the urgency of halting a season that is sliding toward the relegation zone.