Manchester United's bosses met Mauricio Pochettino two years ago, Sky Sports News can reveal, shortly after he was sacked by Chelsea, and considered him as a possible replacement for Erik ten Hag.
However, the decision was taken in 2024 that the timing wasn't right for either side.United are close to completing a deal for the Argentine to take over from Michael Carrick in time for the Premier League game against Liverpool at Anfield a week on Sunday.Pochettino is a coach who has long been admired at Old Trafford.
Before the INEOS takeover, he was considered for the role by the previous regime, who ultimately decided to go with Ten Hag instead.The meeting in the summer of 2024 took place shortly after Omar Berrada became United's chief executive. Ten Hag was sacked in the October.
Pochettino was out of work having left Chelsea in May.Man Utd latest news - live updates🔴Neville: Man Utd's treatment of Carrick 'disgusting'Got Sky? Watch Premier League games LIVE on your phone📱Not got Sky?
Latest Sky Sports deals or stream PL games with no contract📺It's thought that, while Pochettino was seen as a brilliant man-manager and a sound tactician, United's bosses felt he had been emotionally bruised by the latter stages of his time at Stamford Bridge and with some complex relationships and a rebuilding job to be done within the Manchester United squad, the timing didn't feel right.However, once United were
told a few weeks ago about Pochettino's £7.4m buy-out clause in his US contract, and after they had been given positive signals from the Pochettino camp about his desire to take charge at Old Trafford, Berrada and Jason Wilcox, the director of football, decided the timing was right.Their first direct contact with Pochettino, Sky Sports News understands, was on Tuesday night, around the same time that there was an
official approach to his employers, the United States Soccer Federation (USSF).Sky Sports News has also been told the United hierarchy at this stage went fully behind their pursuit of Pochettino, once it became clear last week that Unai Emery could not be prised out of Aston Villa.United hierarchy huge admirers of EmeryBoth coaches, we have been told, fit United's demand for a boss that can cope with the size of the
club, and protect the players from the outside 'noise'.
The club's bosses were determined that was the biggest problem for the first head coach employed in the INEOS era, Ruben Amorim.Berrada and Wilcox have been huge admirers of Emery for some time, and he was very high on their list of possible candidates if and when they decided to sack Carrick.It was an avenue United were keen to progress, if they could see a way of making it work.
However, after detailed discussions with intermediaries, it soon became clear that Emery had a watertight contract at Villa Park with no buy-out clause, which made it impossible for United to progress.
There were never any direct discussions with Emery or Villa, and Villa's bosses had made it very clear they are not prepared to allow him to leave.Sources close to the club have stressed there is no suggestion Pochettino is second choice, and rather - on the recommendation of Berrada and Wilcox - co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is satisfied that he is the best man for the job.
There were no direct discussions with Julian Nagelsmann, Eddie Howe or Antonio Conte.United bosses hurt by criticism of their treatment of Carrick It's understood that United's bosses are hurt by suggestions that they have treated Carrick badly, allowing him to continue to take training while they were progressing a deal for Pochettino in the background.They are adamant that nobody within the club leaked information
about the talks with the Argentinian coach and their priority throughout has been to treat Carrick with the respect due to a true legend of the club.Equally, until they had full agreement with Pochettino, they were reluctant to relieve Carrick of his duties, for fear of being left in limbo with no head coach in post.The board were adamant that Carrick had to be told face-to-face, and so once they had returned from
their review with Ratcliffe in Monaco on Wednesday night, they called a meeting with Carrick for 8.30am Thursday to deliver the news.
We are told Carrick was upset by the decision, but understood the reasons.Back in January when he was first given the interim role, United's bosses didn't have a definite plan to continue with Carrick in a substantive role, beyond the end of the season.
