MANCHESTER (The Thursday Times) — Manchester United have appointed Mauricio Pochettino as their head coach, the club said on Friday, a day after it sacked Michael Carrick with the team in the Premier League relegation zone.
Pochettino, 54, has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal and will start on 18 November. He will first lead the United States in their two-legged CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final against Haiti, after United reached an agreement with US Soccer to release him and his staff once those games are over.
“Mauricio Pochettino has agreed to become the Manchester United men’s head coach from 18 November,” the club said, describing him as “renowned for his high-intensity, attacking style of football, his dedication to building strong, cohesive teams and his outstanding record of developing individual players”.
“The opportunity to represent the USA crest was one of the greatest honours of my career,” Pochettino said in a statement.
United will pay about £7.4 million to release him from his contract with US Soccer, which had been due to run until the 2030 World Cup, according to reports in Britain.
A club in trouble
Pochettino takes over a side with one win and eight points from 10 league games. United are 18th, a point above bottom-placed Crystal Palace, and have won only three of their 15 matches in all competitions. Supporters booed the players off after the defeat to Bournemouth.
His first match in charge will be against Liverpool at Anfield on 22 November.
He becomes the eighth permanent manager at Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in May 2013. He took Tottenham Hotspur to the 2019 Champions League final, won the Ligue 1 title with Paris Saint-Germain, and reached the League Cup final with Chelsea in 2024.
Pochettino had coached the United States since September 2024 and led the World Cup co-hosts to the round of 16 this summer. United had held talks with him since earlier this week.
