📅 November 13, 2026
Manchester United Appoint Mauricio Pochettino as Head Coach
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Manchester United have appointed Mauricio Pochettino as head coach. The club confirmed on Friday that he’s agreed to take the job from 18 November, a day after it sacked Michael Carrick.
He isn’t starting yet. United have reached an agreement with U.S. Soccer for Pochettino and his staff to be released once they’ve finished this month’s USA games, and the Associated Press and PA both report a two-and-a-half-year contract.
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What the club said
The announcement is short. It says Pochettino “has agreed to become the Manchester United men’s head coach from 18 November” and describes him as “renowned for his high-intensity, attacking style of football.” There’s no quote from Omar Berrada or Jason Wilcox.
PA, via RTÉ, says that’s deliberate: the club held back on quotes out of respect for his U.S. Soccer commitments. PA also reports he was the only coach United approached directly about replacing Carrick, and that he’s due to speak to the media towards the end of next week once he’s in Manchester.
He becomes United’s eighth permanent manager or head coach since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, as AP and PA both point out. He’s also the man they nearly hired in 2022, before the club went with Erik ten Hag.
The USA goodbye
This one lands differently for American readers. Pochettino still has two games left with the USA, the Nations League quarter-final against Haiti on Saturday and Tuesday, and he’ll coach both before he leaves. He took the national team to the World Cup round of 16 on home soil earlier this year.
U.S. Soccer chief executive JT Batson said he “has left a lasting mark on U.S. Soccer” through his leadership and professionalism. In his own farewell, carried by PA, Pochettino called representing the USA crest “one of the greatest honours of my career.” The federation hasn’t named a successor, and the names floated so far are reports, not decisions.
Straight into Anfield
The timing is brutal. His first game is Liverpool away on Sunday 22 November, four days after he starts, as AP and Goal both note. He’ll have days, not weeks, before his first game.
United are 18th with one league win from ten. We went through what’s waiting for him, game by game, in our piece on the impossible job.
Our view
It’s the right appointment, and it’s been done quickly. United went from sacking Carrick to naming his successor inside a day, which suggests the groundwork on Pochettino was laid well before the decision was made.
He knows the Premier League from Southampton, Tottenham and Chelsea, and he’s been close to this job before. None of that buys him time at Anfield. What it should buy him is a dressing room that knows exactly who’s in charge, and United haven’t had that for a while.
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Sources: Associated Press via ABC News (13 Nov 2026) for the appointment, the two-and-a-half-year contract, the 18 November start, the Haiti games, eighth permanent coach since Ferguson, the World Cup round of 16, the Batson quote, the club’s “attacking style” line and Liverpool four days after he starts. PA via RTÉ (13 Nov, 12:32) for the club statement wording, the release agreement with U.S. Soccer, the contract, eighth since Ferguson, 2022 and ten Hag, the Batson quote, and (PA only) no club quotes, the only coach approached directly, the media timing and Pochettino’s farewell quote. Goal (13 Nov) for the club statement, the Haiti games and Anfield next Sunday; Evening Standard via Yahoo Sports (13 Nov, 12:02 UTC) for the contract and Anfield. Left out: the contract end date, the release fee, salary, kick-off time at Anfield and his coaching staff (not confirmed by two sources, or not yet announced).