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Manchester United are on their way to cashing out US national team manager Mauricio Pochettino for $10 million and hiring him in Michael Carrick’s position. “Carrick, who was still at work today, will be sacked tomorrow, Thursday.
Spanish coach Pep Guardiola is in the sights of the United States to replace Pochettino on the national team bench.
Pep Guardiola, who has just finished 10 years as manager of Manchester City, after Bayern Munich and Barcelona, is said to have used the need for vacation as a reason to say no to the national team manager’s job for Italy. “But now some time has passed and besides, being national team manager is quite similar to being on vacation for large parts of the year.
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The American Football Federation has made Pep Guardiola its main option to take over the national team, in the face of Mauricio Pochettino’s imminent departure – he is one step away from becoming the new manager of Manchester United.
The Athletic writes that the management of the American federation has named the Catalan coach as the ideal person to lead their international project, taking advantage of the fact that he is free after finishing his time at Manchester City.
Mediation between private donors and Guardiola’s attraction to the US
The USSF has a previous financial structure designed to enable a world-class salary. During the search process following Gregg Berhalter’s departure in 2024 – in which Pochettino, Klopp and Guardiola himself were part of the favourite trio – the federation recruited wealthy donors to pay the contract of a top coach, a mechanism that can now be activated immediately.
The North American federation’s interest in the Catalan coach goes back several years, through his former president Sunil Gulati, with whom he has a personal connection. Add to that Guardiola’s connection to the country – he lived in New York during his sabbatical year in 2012 – and his statements in 2024, in which he described America’s sporting potential as “enormous and fascinating to build a long-term project around.”
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Four months of respite after rejection of Italy
Although earlier this year Guardiola rejected a formal offer to coach Italy’s national team – a situation confirmed by Giovanni Malagó, who suggested the need for a period of distance from his family after a decade of constant demand in England – the international calendar speaks in favour of the American ambitions.
Pochettino will lead the United States in the quarter-finals of the Concacaf Nations League against Haiti before completing his transfer to Old Trafford. From that point, the USSF will have four months without official commitments until March 2027 – allowing Guardiola to extend his break before returning to competitive activity.
The USSF management will start the first exploratory talks with Guardiola’s people as soon as Manchester United have paid the $10 million in Pochettino’s buyout clause. If the Catalan strategist agrees to make the move to the national team bench, the United States will make the most talked-about signing in its sporting history – kicking off the road to 2027.
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