Man United Confirm Pochettino As New Head Coach

Manchester United have confirmed Mauricio Pochettino as their new head coach, with the Argentine set to replace Michael Carrick after his sacking on Thursday.

Pochettino, 54, has agreed a two-and-a-half-year contract at Old Trafford running until the summer of 2029. The club completed the appointment on Friday after final legal details were resolved.

United negotiated with US Soccer and will pay around £7.4m in compensation, in line with a reported £7m release clause in Pochettino’s contract with the United States national team. Out of respect for the international calendar,

United have agreed that Pochettino can take charge of both of the USA’s matches against Haiti in their double-header. The second game is in Cincinnati in the early hours of Wednesday UK time, and arrangements are being made for him to fly directly from there to Manchester.

Pochettino is expected to arrive in Manchester on Wednesday afternoon or evening and meet his new bosses for the first time.

United’s squad returns to training on Thursday after the international break, giving him his first opportunity to work with the players. He will then have three training days before his first match in charge, away to Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday 22 November, live on Sky Sports.

Carrick was dismissed less than six months after signing a two-year contract. United have made their worst start to a Premier League season and sit in the relegation zone after picking up one win in 10 league matches.

In a statement issued shortly after Carrick left the training ground on Thursday morning, the club said it had reached the extremely difficult conclusion that a change was necessary to achieve its ambitions.

The decision was ratified by minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe at a Monaco summit with club chiefs, following a recommendation from chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox. United’s hierarchy is understood to believe the current squad is significantly stronger than recent results and performances have suggested.

Carrick took training on Wednesday as United reached a verbal agreement with Pochettino.

His final match was a 4-4 draw against Aston Villa on Sunday, in which United fell 2-0 behind inside four minutes and then 4-2 down early in the second half before mounting a late comeback. The rescue act followed a similar turnaround against Roma in the Champions League but was not enough to save his job.

Jonny Evans and Jonathan Woodgate, who were part of Carrick’s coaching staff, have also left the club, along with Steve Holland, Travis Binnion and goalkeeping coach Craig Mawson. Assistant first-team goalkeeping coach Connor King, who joined two months ago, is the only remaining coach.

Carrick was initially appointed in January 2026 on a deal until the end of the season after Ruben Amorim was sacked. He won 12 of his 17 matches, guiding United to third place in the Premier League and a return to the Champions League, and was nominated for Premier League Manager of the Season. On 22 May he signed a new contract running to 2028.

However, this season United have won three of 15 matches in all competitions, including only one in 10 in the league, and Carrick leaves with an overall record of 15 wins from 32 games — a win rate of 46.9 per cent.

Pochettino has previously managed Tottenham, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain and has been considered for the United job on three previous occasions. He will become United’s eighth permanent manager since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.