Manchester United is one of the biggest clubs in the world. The pressure of being manager is immense, but if you succeed, then you can become a legend.
So why shouldn’t Mauricio Pochettino, who led the U.S. men’s national team at the 2026 World Cup, take on that challenge? And should USMNT fans feel some type of way for him bolting?
“This is not surprising,” Alexi Lalas said on his “State of the Union with Alexi Lalas” podcast. “Anybody that feels jilted, I think you’re being naive.”
Pochettino is set to take over Man United, just months after signing a contract extension that meant to see him guide the USA through the 2030 World Cup. Instead, he’ll head back to the Premier League and take on the task of guiding the historic but beleaguered club out of the relegation zone.
It’s hard for any manager not to want the job of guiding England’s most successful club, but it is fair to question whether U.S. Soccer should have even given Pochettino a new deal.
“It just feels a little disingenuous,” said FOX Soccer analyst Stu Holden.
Mauricio Pochettino is taking over at Manchester United (Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Man United executives, who fired Michael Carrick on Thursday, triggered the reported $10 million buyout clause in Pochettino’s USMNT contract as well as an additional $2 million for the 54-year-old Argentine’s coaching staff.
Ever since Pochettino was hired by U.S. Soccer in October 2024, he has been linked to an eventual return to the European club circuit. He led Tottenham Hotspur to the 2019 Champions League final and later managed Chelsea for the 2023-24 season. He also won a Ligue 1 title with Paris Saint-Germain.
Back in June before the World Cup, he was mentioned as a candidate for AC Milan – who decided to hire former United manager Ruben Amorim.
“He was very upfront and honest about this, so much so that (this was) even in the contract on both sides. This is a creation of Mauricio Pochettino and the U.S. Soccer Federation,” Lalas said.
Holden had an interesting comparison about how this whole thing went down: “I feel like the side chick a little bit, in the way that we’re just kind of hand in hand with Pochettino until the next big thing comes along.”
Of which Lalas responded: “With every side chick, everyone eventually takes them aside and asks, how did you not see this? How did you not see the signs?”
Still, Holden added that he hopes it all works for Pochettino at Old Trafford after guiding the USMNT to a round-of-16 appearance this summer at the World Cup.
“Full disclosure, I really like Mauricio Pochettino, he’s a good coach, he’s got the vibes, he’s got the aura. I hope he succeeds. But I feel like you always knew this would come soon, and it has come sooner than what you or everybody thought.”
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