Mauricio Pochettino officially leaves the USMNT for Manchester United
“Not too many opportunities can happen in your career a size of Manchester United,” Pochettino said. He choked up praising the U.S. program, but couldn't spin leaving three months into a new contract.
Mauricio Pochettino’s departure from the U.S. men’s soccer team became official on Friday. He will formally step down after the upcoming Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal series against Haiti to take over Manchester United, after the English Premier League club chased him so hard that it agreed to pay a reported $10 million-plus to buy him and his staff out.
“I think they know that not too many opportunities can happen in your career a size of Manchester United,” Pochettino said Friday, during a news conference at U.S. Soccer’s national training center in suburban Atlanta. “And of course when that arrives, it’s difficult to turn down that situation.”
He sat at the podium flanked by two of the people who count as “they”: U.S. Soccer president Cindy Cone and CEO JT Batson.
“What you’ve done with the men’s and the boys’ program in two years has been unbelievable,” Cone said in prepared remarks. “Not only have you contributed to their advancement, you’ve contributed to the entire federation being better, and you have been such a great partner to all of us. So I just want to give you a heartfelt thank you. We’re going to miss you.”
Pochettino got choked up a few times, including when he admitted that “I didn’t prepare a speech — I am talking with my heart.”
The most poignant moment came when he turned to address Batson, and ended up addressing a theme of the soccer world.
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“You never lied to us,” Pochettino said. “The human being is in front of everything, and that is why [this] is a really difficult decision. But we need to move forward. A big thank you from my heart and my people, because you always were transparent, and you always put in front the interest of the federation, but always trying to build something together. And we really enjoyed it.”
He added that “we really enjoyed it” and “we learned a lot from you all, from this country, the amazing people.”
An admission that ‘it’s not ideal’
A key factor in those sentiments was Batson’s offer of a new contract for the 2030 World Cup cycle before the this year’s tournament kicked off. That struck a manager who was dismissed from his previous three jobs: England’s Tottenham Hotspur in 2019, France’s Paris Saint-Germain in 2022, and England’s Chelsea in 2024.
“That is why you always are going to be in my heart,” Pochettino said. “It’s difficult to find people like you that are transparent and really believe in more than a result if not seeing the project [make progress]. I think the federation is in great hands, and I think you have everything: the capacity, the knowledge, and the power in this country and behind it, that can be amazing in the future with one or another coach.”
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Batson’s prepared remarks certainly put a positive spin on the fact that the most famous coach in U.S. men’s team history was walking away from the job three months after signing a four-year deal for a second term.
“The culture that Mauricio helped set within our team, and even more broadly within the federation, is something that will last for many, many years to come,” Batson said.
When Pochettino agreed to the second term in August, he said “we signed the contract because we really believe that we are going to be four years there.” But not many other people did, and he knew it.
Even during Pochettino’s first term, from the fall of 2024 through the World Cup, there were flirtations with European clubs including Tottenham and Italy’s AC Milan. This was seen for U.S. Soccer as part of the cost of hiring a famous name.
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Still, he wasn’t expected to leave the post this soon into the new deal. Maybe next summer, or especially the summer of 2028, but not now.
“It’s true that this is not ideal, but it never is an ideal situation when this type of thing happens,” Pochettino said Friday. “But like in life, football goes quick … That is why we need to move more forward, I think, to keep that relationship and all the memories that we share.”
What comes next?
At least the timing works for U.S. Soccer. After the upcoming Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal against Haiti, there isn’t anything on the program’s schedule until a prospects camp in December. Olympic team coach Steve Cherundolo will lead that. The next thing from there is the Nations League final four in March, if the U.S. advances.
It will be awkward to some observers that Pochettino is staying for the Haiti games, Saturday in Miami (4:30 p.m., TNT, Telemundo 62) and Tuesday in Cincinnati (7 p.m., TBS, Universo). But it’s practical, because there isn’t anyone else around. Pochettino’s entire coaching staff came with him and will leave with him; and Cherundolo is currently in Spain for a camp with Olympic team prospects.
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On top of that, Pochettino wants to see things out with his players.
“Before professionals, we are persons,” he said. “The emotional link between us that we built in these two years, I think it’s to show the commitment, and respect, and care, and love, even if we take a decision that is not for one part maybe the best. … I think we have the respect of the players and the staff, and they understand the situation.”
Will U.S. Soccer try to dance with another famous name now? The Athletic has reported that the brass want to land Pep Guardiola next, and Batson didn’t deny it Friday.
“We’ve publicly shared our ambition is to be in a position where we’re winning major tournaments including World Cups and we want to make sure that we’re attracting leaders who help us do just that,” he said. “We know from our experience that great leaders want to work with great people, and great leaders want to make an impact on things that matter. And we think that we’ve proven that at U.S. Soccer that we are a great place to work, and we’re a great place to make legacy defining impact.”
That was one of a few instances that sounded more like management-speak than plain talking. A brief moment of the latter came when Batson said the search for the next manager will be led by a committee of himself, chief operating officer Dan Helfrich, vice president of the sporting division Oguchi Onyewu, U.S. women’s team manager Emma Hayes, “and other soccer leaders.”
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But the full roster wasn’t revealed. Nor did Batson directly address what influence U.S. Soccer’s big-money donors will have, after they wrote the checks to pay Pochettino’s salary. He only said, and not quite directly, that the cash from Pochettino’s buyout will go into U.S. Soccer’s accounts and not to the donors.
“Our supporters, our sponsors, our donors, our fans are very supportive around making sure that we have the resources to achieve our goals including having a world-class coach,” Batson said. “We’re appreciative of that support, and look forward to to that being a key part of our way of winning going forward
