Pochettino will leave the United States men's national team to replace Michael Carrick at Old Trafford. Alex Grimm / Getty Images
Manchester United have hired Mauricio Pochettino as their new head coach.
Pochettino will leave his role with the United States men’s national team and move to Old Trafford on a two-and-a-half year deal through to the end of the 2028-29 season after United triggered the $10million (£7.4m) release in his contract. He was previously signed through to the 2030 World Cup with the U.S.
He will remain with the USMNT for the upcoming Concacaf Nations League quarter final games with Haiti before making his return to English football. United’s next game following the international break comes against Liverpool at Anfield on November 22.
Pochettino’s current staff, including longtime assistant Jesus Perez, are set to follow him to Manchester.
The Premier League side stepped up their pursuit of the Argentine coach earlier this week, making formal contact with U.S. Soccer, with a view to appointing him in the event the decision was made to move on from Michael Carrick, who was informed of his dismissal on Thursday.
Pochettino has long desired to manage United, following spells in England with Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea. He began his managerial career with Espanyol in 2009, before moving to Southampton and then Spurs.
He had spells in charge of Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea before being appointed USMNT head coach in September 2024, leading the side to the World Cup last-16 on home soil this summer.
Pochettino departs with a record of 21 wins, 12 losses and two draws across 35 matches and having had a pool of 75 players win at least one cap during his tenure.
U.S. Soccer said in a press release on Friday that the search for a new coach will be led by the federation’s chief executive and secretary general JT Batson and chief operating officer Dan Helfrich, who will work “alongside the soccer leadership team at U.S. Soccer that includes (USWNT head coach) Emma Hayes and (assistant sporting director) Oguchi Onyewu.”
“We are looking for a leader with the talent, experience and belief to match our ambition, build on the culture and pathway now in place and help the USMNT take the next step,” Batson said.
The Athletic reported Pep Guardiola is expected to be a top target to replace Pochettino.
U.S. Under-23 Olympic coach Steve Cherundolo will oversee the December camp, which will feature a roster made up primarily of MLS-based players.
Analysis from football tactics writer Thom Harris
Pochettino is distinguished within the global game for his commitment to developing players. He improved Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Ryan Mason, Danny Rose, Kyle Walker and more at Spurs, while Luke Shaw — who he could be reunited with at United 13 years down the line — and Adam Lallana also flourished under his guidance when he was Southampton manager.
With the ball, Pochettino looks to coach patient patterns through the middle of the pitch. He encourages sharp, brave passing out from the back, looking to entice the opposition into pressing before finding technically gifted midfielders with incisive forward passes.
He is also flexible with shape; though his preferred system involves four defenders, two deeper midfielders and a roaming, creative No 10 — most often a 4-2-3-1 — he has cycled through three-man defensive shapes at Tottenham and most recently in charge of the USMNT.
Pochettino’s preferred tactical approach centres on high-pressing and patient build-up with the ball. It is another reason he likes to work with younger players, naturally more energetic and enthusiastic to carry out his out-of-possession demands and with more motivation to improve and impress.
The playstyle wheel below looks at his solitary season in charge of Chelsea to outline how his team looked to play compared with others in Europe’s top seven domestic leagues. Their rating of 89 out of 99 for Intensity speaks to the front-footed nature of the Chelsea press, ranking fifth for the number of high turnovers made in the Premier League that 2023-24 season.
Less encouraging is their rating of 32 out of 99 for Chance Prevention. His team were leaky, conceding 63 league goals, but their tally of 77 going forward can only be bettered by two Chelsea sides.
It all suggests that Pochettino will need time to completely steady the ship at United, even if his ability to platform attacking players could get pulses racing.
Analysis by senior soccer writer Henry Bushnell
Pochettino’s departure will be, in the short term, awkward for the USMNT; but viewed through a longer lens, it’s neither disastrous nor surprising.
Players and executives alike would rather Pochettino stay, of course, but if he were going to leave — which always felt like a probability, given his frequent public comments about European ambitions — late-2026 was the least messy time to do it. Pochettino did his job this fall; he integrated young players, maintained a strong culture and won games.
Now, Cherundolo can take charge of a December training camp that will predominantly feature young MLS players; and U.S. Soccer brass can spend three-plus months recruiting Pochettino’s successor, with millions of dollars in buyout money from Manchester United at their disposal. The USMNT’s next meaningful games will come in March.
As for Pochettino’s U.S. legacy, it’s a complicated one. He leaves with the USMNT better than he found it. But he failed…
