Mauricio Pochettino has agreed to take charge of Manchester United on a two-and-a-half-year contract that will run until the end of the 2028/2029 season. The club is expected to officially announce the appointment of the Argentine, who until now had been the head coach of the United States national team.
Pochettino is due to conduct his first training session with the team on November 18. Four days later, Manchester United will visit Liverpool in the Premier League, which is expected to be the first match for the 54-year-old coach in charge of the team.
The appointment comes after Michael Carrick was dismissed on November 12. The former midfielder initially led the team on an interim basis, and later received a permanent contract. He spent around six months as caretaker manager and less than five months as permanent head coach.
Manchester United’s management explained the decision to part ways by saying that “change is necessary for us to achieve our ambitions”, Sky Sports reported. According to The Guardian, the team is in the relegation zone and has recorded just one win in its last 11 matches.
Pochettino will not be given the title of “manager”, but rather “head coach” — the same position held by Carrick. This reflects the club’s structure, in which full sporting control is not concentrated in the person managing the first team.
The Argentine will be the 12th different Manchester United coach since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. The list includes David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, José Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Erik ten Hag, Ruben Amorim and Michael Carrick as permanent managers, as well as Ryan Giggs, Ralf Rangnick, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Darren Fletcher as interim coaches.
During this period, the club has paid more than €140 million in compensation for coaches released before the end of their contracts, Korner claims. Since parting ways with Ferguson, Manchester United have won neither the English title nor the Champions League.