Manchester United have reached a comprehensive agreement with Mauricio Pochettino for the former Tottenham, Chelsea, and Paris Saint-Germain manager to become the club’s next permanent head coach.
Pochettino is expected to sign a lucrative two-and-a-half-year contract at Old Trafford, stepping into the role previously occupied by Michael Carrick, who was dismissed earlier on Thursday. The formal announcement of Pochettino’s appointment is anticipated on Friday, making the Argentine the eighth permanent manager to take the reins at Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson announced his retirement in 2013.
The transition will take place following international fixtures. Pochettino, who had a £7m release clause written into his contract with the United States national team, will officially take charge of Manchester United after overseeing the US matches against Haiti on Saturday and Wednesday. His eagerly awaited baptism of fire in the United Old Trafford hot seat will arrive on November 22, when his new side travels to Anfield to face fierce rivals Liverpool in a blockbuster fixture broadcast live on Sky Sports.
Carrick’s departure comes less than six months after he proudly put pen to paper on a two-year contract extension. That reward was earned following a brilliant interim spell and a subsequent third-place Premier League finish last season. However, a disastrous start to the current campaign has left United languishing in the relegation zone, managing just a single victory in their opening 10 Premier League matches.
In an official club statement released on Thursday morning, shortly after Carrick cleared his desk at the training ground, Manchester United confirmed that the hierarchy had reached "the extremely difficult conclusion that a change is necessary in order to achieve our ambitions."
The decision was ratified during a high-level summit in Monaco involving minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, alongside chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox. The summit followed a dramatic 4-4 draw against Aston Villa on Sunday, a match in which United fell two goals behind inside the opening four minutes, and later found themselves trailing 4-2 early in the second half before mounting a desperate late comeback. While that rescue job mirrored a similar dramatic turnaround against Roma in the Champions League, it ultimately failed to convince the club’s leadership to persevere with the former midfielder.
Carrick’s dismissal has triggered a major clear-out of the backroom staff. Coaches Jonny Evans and Jonathan Woodgate have left the club alongside Steve Holland, Travis Binnion, and goalkeeping coach Craig Mawson. Connor King, the assistant first-team goalkeeping coach who joined the club only two months ago, remains the sole survivor of the previous coaching setup.
Pochettino’s arrival at Old Trafford brings to an end a long-standing flirtation between the club and the Argentine coach, who had previously been considered for the vacancy on three separate occasions. Club chiefs Wilcox and Berrada firmly believe that the current squad possesses a standard of talent far superior to what their league position and recent performances suggest, a narrative Pochettino will be expected to validate immediately.
Neville: United need bigger solution than sacking Carrick
The recurring cycle of managerial dismissals at Old Trafford has once again prompted deep introspection among former players and pundits. Speaking to NBC, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville expressed deep skepticism regarding the club’s constant reliance on changing the coaching staff.
"You can keep changing the manager and thinking that’s going to be the answer," Neville said. "But this has been proven now over 12 years, that’s not the answer. It’s rinse and repeat. Ruben Amorim, Erik ten Hag, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Carrick, Jose Mourinho, Louis van Gaal, David Moyes, Ralf Rangnick – some of them are world-class managers who have had success. There are a lot of promising young managers there, ex-players who know the club as well. None of it has worked because if you’ve got a poor performance department, poor recruitment department, you’ve not got leadership that is strong right through the spine of the football club, you will fail."
Carrick’s Man Utd reign in numbers
Michael Carrick’s tenure at Old Trafford presents a striking statistical dichotomy. During his initial caretaker and permanent spell last season, United won 12 out of 17 games, representing an exceptional 70.1 per cent win rate that placed him comfortably at the summit among permanent post-Ferguson managers.
However, a harrowing slump in form saw his overall record settle at 15 wins from 32 matches—a win rate of just 46.9 per cent. That figure leaves him ahead of only Ruben Amorim among permanent bosses appointed since Ferguson’s departure. This season, Carrick oversaw just three victories in 15 matches across all competitions, a meager 20 per cent success rate that sealed his fate.
The dramatic drop-off bears a stark resemblance to the trajectory of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, whose win percentage similarly plummeted from 73.7 per cent during his interim period down to 51.7 per cent after he was handed the permanent job.
Ferguson’s shadow
The shadow of Sir Alex Ferguson continues to loom large over Old Trafford. In the 27 years preceding his retirement in 2013, Ferguson claimed 26 major trophies and established a 59.7 per cent win ratio across 1,500 games. In the 731 matches played since he stepped down, Manchester United have cycled through seven permanent managers, alongside a series of interim and caretaker bosses, including Ralf Rangnick, Ryan Giggs, Ruud van Nistelrooy, and Darren Fletcher.
Among those permanent successors, Jose Mourinho boasts the highest win percentage at 58.3 per cent, secured across 144 matches. Mourinho also delivered the most silverware of the post-Ferguson era, guiding United to a League Cup and Europa League double in the 2016-17 season, preceded by a Community Shield triumph. Erik ten Hag subsequently secured both domestic cup competitions during his tenure, while Louis van Gaal lifted the FA Cup and David Moyes captured the Community Shield.
Timeline: INEOS’ time in charge at Man Utd so far
December 2023: Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s deal to purchase a minority stake in Manchester United is officially announced.
January 2024: United appoint Omar Berrada from cross-town rivals Manchester City as their new chief executive, a move heavily driven by INEOS in consultation with the Glazer family.
February 2024: Ratcliffe completes his acquisition of a 27.7 per cent stake in the club, granting his petrochemicals company operational control over football matters.
April 2024: The INEOS overhaul continues with the appointment of Jason Wilcox as technical director following a brief stint at Southampton.
July 2024: United secure the appointment of Dan Ashworth as sporting director from Newcastle United after a lengthy period of gardening leave.
July 2024: Erik ten Hag is handed a one-year contract extension following his FA Cup final victory over Manchester City, subsequently backed by the arrivals of Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui, Joshua Zirkzee, Manuel Ugarte, and Leny Yoro.
July 2024: Christopher Vivell joins the club on a temporary basis as director of global talent.
October 2024: Following a dismal start to the 2024-25 season that yields just four wins from 14 matches, Ten Hag is sacked, with Ruud van Nistelrooy stepping in as interim manager.
November 2024: Ruben Amorim is confirmed as the club’s new head coach on a deal running until June 2027, with United paying a release clause to Sporting.
December 2024: Dan Ashworth leaves his role as sporting director after merely five months, during which he oversaw a significant summer transfer spend. Jason Wilcox subsequently steps into Ashworth’s vacated role.
February 2025: Christopher Vivell is appointed on a permanent basis as director of recruitment.
June 2025: Wilcox is promoted to director of football following the departure of Sir Dave Brailsford, assuming full control over football operations and player recruitment.
January 2026: Amorim is dismissed after 14 months at the helm, having secured 24 wins from 63 games. Darren Fletcher takes charge temporarily before Michael Carrick is installed as head coach until the end of the season.
May 2026: Having steered United back into the Champions League with 12 wins from 17 matches, Carrick is rewarded with a new two-year contract.
November 2026: Carrick is dismissed following a chaotic draw with Aston Villa, leaving United stranded in the Premier League relegation zone after 10 matches.
From Champions League finish to drop zone: How Carrick’s reign unravelled
The rapid unraveling of Michael Carrick’s managerial tenure has stunned supporters. Having successfully navigated United back into Europe’s elite club competition at the close of the previous campaign, the team suffered a catastrophic collapse in form. The 4-4 stalemate against Aston Villa proved to be the final straw for the club’s leadership, leaving the team entrenched in the bottom three as preparations begin for the busy winter fixture schedule.
Pochettino now inherits a demanding fixture list. Following the upcoming international break, his opening sequence of matches includes a trip to Anfield to face Liverpool, a Champions League fixture away to Sporting, and home encounters against Brentford and Coventry City, interspersed with a domestic trip to Newcastle United.
As the club transitions into a new era under Pochettino, supporter reaction remains polarized. While some fans view the change as an inevitable response to an unacceptable league position, others continue to voice profound frustration at the higher echelons of the club, arguing that systemic boardroom deficiencies and recruitment flaws remain the root cause of Manchester United’s enduring struggles.