Mauricio Pochettino has been confirmed as Manchester United’s new head coach.
Pochettino, 54, has left his role as United States men’s national team head coach and signed a 2½-year contract at Old Trafford after finalizing an agreement Thursday. He is set to take charge for the first time when United travel to Anfield to face Liverpool on Nov. 22.
Pochettino takes over from Michael Carrick, who was sacked Thursday just 15 games into the two-year contract he signed in May.
United CEO Omar Berrada informed U.S. Soccer on Wednesday that they were willing to trigger a $10 million (£7.5m) release clause in Pochettino’s contract.
Sources told ESPN that it was Pochettino’s representatives who first alerted United to the existence of the clause.
Pochettino, according to sources, was the only candidate spoken to directly during the search for a successor to Carrick.
Sources also told ESPN that Pochettino was the “unanimous choice” recommended by the club’s leadership team and subsequently approved by minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the majority owners, the Glazer family.
Pochettino was interviewed by Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox in May 2024 shortly after he left Chelsea. United ultimately decided to stick with Erik ten Hag and Pochettino accepted the USMNT job in September 2024.
Pochettino emerged as the top choice to replace Carrick because of his vast Premier League experience and his history of working at big clubs.
He has had spells at Southampton, Tottenham and Chelsea as well as Paris Saint-Germain, where he was in charge of a dressing room that included Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar.
United believe they have a tactically astute coach who plays a style of football that fans will appreciate, sources told ESPN. Club bosses also think Pochettino has the personality to handle the intense scrutiny at Old Trafford.
During the early part of the season, concerns were raised internally that Carrick was struggling to cope when form of the team began to dip. Some of the technical staff held the opinion that Carrick did not focus enough on the small details in a bid to get United out of trouble, including more work on set-pieces.
Sources told ESPN that United believe Pochettino is the right leader for the dressing room, but also with the right amount of coaching experience to significantly improve the team he is inheriting.
A United statement which confirmed Pochettino’s arrival also said: “The Argentinian 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.
“Pochettino has consistently performed at the highest level of football across multiple leagues.”
United are 18th in the table with just one league win all season.
Pochettino will take charge of the USMNT’s two games against Haiti, on Saturday and Tuesday, during the international break before traveling to Manchester. He will start his job at United at Carrington on Wednesday ahead of the trip to Anfield four days later. On Friday. Steve Cherundolo will lead the USMNT’s December camp.
U.S. Soccer did not immediately name a replacement for Pochettino, but in a news release said that U.S. women’s national team coach Emma Hayes will be among those involved in the search along with U.S. Soccer federation leadership, including CEO and Secretary General JT Batson, COO Dan Helfrich and VP for Sporting Oguchi Onyewu.
Most of United’s international players are also due back at Carrington on Wednesday ahead of facing Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday.
Pochettino said about his time with the USMNT: “The opportunity to represent the USA crest was one of the greatest honors of my career. We are so grateful to the players for their commitment, to the fans for their belief, and to the Federation for always supporting our staff and creating the opportunities to impact the culture of soccer in this great country.—ESPN
