Mauricio Pochettino is still running U.S. men's national team training, and he is still expected to coach the Nations League quarterfinals against Haiti. The contingency already has a famous name attached: Pep Guardiola, if Manchester United actually gets Pochettino out of a deal that runs through the 2030 World Cup.
U.S. Soccer is expected to make Guardiola a top target should that move happen, The Athletic reported Wednesday. He has been discussed internally as a candidate across multiple levels of the federation's hiring process. That is a potential recruitment plan.
A 2030 Contract With a $10 Million Door
The public version of this relationship is 100 days old. On Aug. 3, the USMNT account
announced that Pochettino and U.S. Soccer had agreed on a new contract through 2030, under the line "Committed to our future." He remains under contract with the U.S. team through the 2030 World Cup,
NBC Miami
reported.
None of the Manchester United maneuvering has produced a call to the employer. The Athletic reported that United had not yet contacted U.S. Soccer, and that an exit clause worth around $10 million, or £7.4 million, would have to be paid. A person with knowledge of the situation told NBC Miami that preparations to appoint Pochettino had been carried out as a matter of "due diligence," and that no final decision had been made on Michael Carrick. Due diligence, so far, has not included ringing the federation that employs him.
The Guardian reported that Pochettino is interested in leaving for United. The same reporting noted that a departure now would leave an incoming coach most of a four-year cycle. U.S. Soccer, The Athletic reported, has also recruited wealthy donors to help fund the salary of a prominent international coach. The long-term project, in other words, already has a buyout price and a donor list.
The Manager Who Asked for Rest
Guardiola left Manchester City in the summer after a decade in England. In May he told The Guardian, "Rest. No plans to train for a while." He turned down Italy earlier this year. Giovanni Malago told La Repubblica that the sabbatical was partly for family reasons, and that Guardiola would have worked with Italy had he taken the job. The Athletic reported that he has shown little recent interest in an imminent return, though a few more months off could still fit before he coaches again.
The American file is older than this week's rumor. Guardiola lived in New York during a year-long sabbatical after leaving Barcelona in 2012, has had dialogue with U.S. Soccer, and has been intrigued by working in America. In 2024 he said the United States offered a fascinating opportunity to build a long-term project and advance its national team. Sources told The Athletic that former U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati has a good relationship with him and once suggested he might coach the national team.
The résumé is the obvious reason the federation keeps the number. A live blog from The Athletic put the major haul at three Champions League titles, six Premier League trophies, three La Liga titles and three Bundesliga titles. He managed Barcelona for four seasons, winning three league titles and two Champions Leagues there; won the league in each of three seasons at Bayern Munich; and led Manchester City to its first Champions League. The cabinet also includes three FA Cups and five League Cups. International management would still be new.
They Have Made This Call Before
This would not be U.S. Soccer's first approach. The federation reported interest in Guardiola during the search after the 2022 World Cup, then contacted him and Jürgen Klopp at the start of the search that ended with Pochettino replacing Gregg Berhalter in 2024. In that earlier process, The Athletic reported, the three names everyone agreed fit the brief were Guardiola, Pochettino and Klopp. The federation would again be trying to pull Guardiola into international management rather than another club job.
The immediate priority, The Athletic reported, is the day-to-day of the current international window, not a fresh search. Pochettino was leading training as of Wednesday and is expected to stay in charge for the Haiti matches. A mostly domestic camp is scheduled for December. The next competitive games are in March.
That calendar leaves months, not days, if the federation has to recruit. It does not turn a conditional United interest into a vacancy, and it does not turn Guardiola's stated break into a yes. Haiti is still Pochettino's window. The $10 million clause is still the door, and nobody in Manchester has knocked.
