‘Feedback’—Why Man Utd Rejected Mauricio Pochettino Two Years Before Huge Change
Mauricio Pochettino finally looks set to become the next Manchester United manager, with the possibility that Michael Carrick is fired this week—a final decision on that is still being made.
It has been a very long road to reach this point, with Pochettino—in hindsight—arguably the best choice to replace David Moyes at Old Trafford way back in 2014.
United went with seasoned winner Louis van Gaal rather than the upstart Argentine, who joined Tottenham Hotspur instead, and the stars have never fully aligned until now. The Red Devils have remained linked with Pochettino at various junctures over the past 12 years, notably in 2016 when Van Gaal was under pressure, and again in 2018 and 2021.
But while Pochettino was in a job in each of those years—Tottenham and later Paris Saint-Germain—it seems that United have also actively passed on him twice more recently.
Speaking on The Athletic FC podcast this week, journalist David Ornstein noted that Pochettino was in the “final two” in May 2022 when the club decided to appoint Erik ten Hag after an impressive Ajax run. Pochettino, at that point, was leaving PSG after 18 months that delivered three trophies but ended in disappointment. United also went in another direction in 2024.
Pochettino was available that summer, splitting with Chelsea by mutual consent at the end of a 2023–24 season in he had clashed with the sporting hierarchy at Stamford Bridge. United were actively assessing their options to replace Ten Hag, whose impact wasn’t what was hoped.
The former Espanyol, PSG and Argentina center back was among several candidates the club spoke to, before it was decided that Ten Hag would stay. Pochettino joined U.S. Soccer as the United States men’s national team manager soon after, and it was then Ruben Amorim—another of the summer 2024 candidates—who got the call when Ten Hag was dismissed.
“I did not hear the best feedback from how it went on that occasion,” Ornstein said of United’s contact with Pochettino two years ago. “I was told they were a little underwhelmed regarding his coaching, his hunger, his work rate. I don’t know all of the factors, but that sort of gist.
“Clearly, they didn’t think that highly of him because they ended up taking [Thomas] Tuchel and [Roberto] De Zerbi to the ‘last two,’ and ultimately gave Ten Hag a new contract.”
Man Utd Change Opinion on Pochettino
Pochettino spent a year at Chelsea that ended under a cloud. / Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
If United didn’t rate Pochettino highly enough to give him the job in 2022 or 2024, something has clearly changed in how the club sees him now. They could even have appointed him this past summer, when he was briefly unattached after the 2026 World Cup finished, instead deciding to promote Carrick from interim to permanent manager after a strong end to 2025–26.
There are still other credible candidates on the market right now, with the club seemingly choosing to spend money to release the 54-year-old and his staff from their contracts with U.S. Soccer over taking on a free agent like Antonio Conte or Julian Nagelsmann.
It could be a case of changing preferences in specific circumstances. Jason Wilcox was only recently hired as technical director in the spring of 2024 and was impressed that Ten Hag took on his tactical advice for the 2024 FA Cup final, which the club won against Manchester City. Obviously, results and performances thereafter eventually made the Dutchman’s position untenable.
Maybe even Pochettino himself is in a different place two years on, still raw from a clearly frustrating spell at Chelsea the last time he spoke with United.
Wilcox, of course, now holds the more senior role of sporting director.
Pochettino had clashed with Chelsea’s sporting hierarchy, so it stands to reason that his appointment at Old Trafford would need to come with assurances over his exact remit and the structure he would be working within—given the challenge that awaits.
U.S. Soccer clearly values Pochettino’s input when it comes to wider strategy and long-term development. His new contract signed in August set out a deeper remit to influence the future of soccer in America. He’s played a major role in the past building up Southampton and building up Tottenham. Could it be possible that Manchester United now see more of that side of him too?
Or did he just need a break from it all and is a better version of himself once more?
