Pochettino Linked With Manchester United as Carrick Faces the Sack
Mauricio Pochettino is interested in becoming Manchester United's head coach, and the interest is mutual, according to the Guardian. The Argentine currently coaches the United States men's national team, and his contract has a release clause of around $10 million (£7.5 million).
A release clause is a fixed price written into a contract. If another employer pays it, it can hire the coach without negotiating with the current one. The Athletic was first to report the details of Pochettino's buyout, and the Guardian says the figure rises if United also want to keep his staff. That includes his assistant, Jesús Pérez, who has worked alongside him for 16 years.
The move would come at a difficult moment for United. The Guardian reports the club is expected to sack head coach Michael Carrick after a disastrous start to the season. United have made their worst opening to a league campaign in four decades, and they are at risk of relegation, which means being sent down from the Premier League, England's top division.
Pochettino took charge of the USMNT in 2024. He led them to the last 16 of the 2026 World Cup, and US Soccer then signed him to a new contract running through 2030. He has also built a reputation as a coach who gets the best out of a squad, although it is worth noting the USMNT's results are only part of the picture for a club as large as United.
The USMNT are only days away from two Concacaf Nations League matches against Haiti, in Cincinnati and Miami. Concacaf is the governing body for football across North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The games are the team's first competitive fixtures of the 2030 World Cup qualifying cycle, so they matter for the national team whatever happens next at club level.
Pochettino is scheduled to speak to reporters on Friday afternoon ahead of the Haiti games. Until then, any deal would need both sides to agree terms.
For fans, the story puts two very different jobs side by side. One is a national team coach with a World Cup run behind him. The other is a famous club looking for a way out of a deep hole.
