FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — Mauricio Pochettino was hired as Manchester United’s head coach on Friday, agreeing to leave his job with the U.S. national team to take on the challenge of reviving the fortunes of English soccer’s once dominant force.
Just three months after announcing a contract to lead the Americans through the 2030 World Cup, the U.S. Soccer Federation said Pochettino will depart next next week for Old Trafford. The 20-time English champion is in the relegation zone after 10 games of the Premier League season.
He has signed a 2 1/2-year contract and will officially take over on Nov. 18 ahead of the match at Liverpool four days later, becoming United’s eighth permanent coach or manager since club great Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
United said the 54-year-old Argentine was “renowned for his high-intensity, attacking style of football, his dedication to building strong, cohesive teams and his outstanding record of developing individual players,” and had “consistently performed at the highest level of football across multiple leagues.”
Pochettino’s appointment comes one day after Michael Carrick was fired for overseeing United’s worst league start in 40 years, with one of the biggest teams in world soccer languishing 18th in the Premier League.
Pochettino and his assistants will remain with the U.S. team for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals against Haiti on Saturday and Tuesday.
“There is tremendous talent in the U.S. player pool from the youth teams through to the senior team, and it’s one of the reasons we have so much belief for the future of U.S. Soccer,” Pochettino said in a statement.
Pochettino took over the U.S. team in the fall of 2024 and led the co-host Americans to the round of 16 at this year’s World Cup. The USSF is likely to sound out Pep Guardiola’s interest and could also consider elevating Under-23 coach Steve Cherundolo, a former national team defender. Cherundolo will lead a senior national team training camp next month with players mostly from Major League Soccer.
USSF CEO JT Batson and chief operating officer Dan Helfrich will lead the search, assisted by women’s national team coach Emma Hayes and former American defender Oguchi Onyewu, a member of the USSF staff.
“Mauricio has left a lasting mark on U.S. Soccer through his leadership, professionalism and commitment to our players and culture,” Batson said in a statement. “What we are most proud of goes beyond the wins. He and his staff raised standards, strengthened our culture and created clearer connections from the youth national teams to the senior team.”
After coaching Southampton, Tottenham and Chelsea in the Premier League, Espanyol in Spain and winning the French title with Paris Saint-Germain, Pochettino takes a job that has proved to be too big for a succession of managers since Ferguson led the team to a record 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League crowns during a near 27-year tenure.
United has not won the league since Ferguson’s last season in 2013 and has been overtaken by rivals Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal.
Champions League-winning coaches Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho failed to meet United’s expectations, while David Moyes, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Erik ten Hag and Carrick also came up short.
Despite winning the French league with PSG in 2022, arguably Pochettino’s greatest achievement was turning Tottenham into a serial title contender in the Premier League and also leading the club to the Champions League final in 2019.
He has never won a major trophy in England, most recently losing the final of the English League Cup with Chelsea in 2024.
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AP Sports Writer Charles Odum in Fayetteville, Georgia, contributed to this report.
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Robson reported from Manchester, England, and Blum from New York.
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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
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See AP’s full soccer coverage here
