Mauricio Pochettino’s claims that his current U.S. men’s national team contract is “different” and no longer unbreakable look all the more intriguing when set to the backdrop of mounting speculation linking him with the perilous position as Manchester United’s manager.

While Michael Carrick’s future remains shrouded in a thick fog of uncertainty, United are reportedly “assessing” their options in the hunt for a new successor to suckle from this poisoned chalice. Pochettino has emerged as a surprising favorite for this position with a number of bookmakers.

It’s no shock for the former Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea manager to be highly rated within the corridors of power at Old Trafford. Pochettino steered Spurs to their greatest sustained domestic success in the Premier League era and has instilled a clear playing identity and a newfound sense of togetherness off the pitch with the USMNT.

United have even considered appointed Pochettino in the past, sending legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson to have lunch with the then-Tottenham boss. “It was a meeting in London between colleagues, between a genius and an apprentice,” Pochettino would later reflect.

Pochettino turned down the Red Devils on that occasion and many would have expectedly a similarly dim view of United’s advances at this point in time, just a matter of months after he signed a new four-year contract with the USMNT. However, the manager himself has hinted at a more softened stance when discussing those terms.

What Would It Take to Break Pochettino’s USMNT Contract?

Everything we need is right here with us.

The postmatch speech from Mauricio Pochettino. ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/NBr9d6UrFP

— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) July 2, 2026

Tottenham made confirmed contact with Pochettino in the run-up to the World Cup. The Champions League runner-up from 2019 never had any intention of leaving the USMNT before a home tournament and, as he joked: “They called everyone, they called all the coaches!”

Those conversations were presumably curtailed once it became clear quite how difficult it would be to extricate Pochettino from his previous USMNT contract. Reports claim that it would have taken “one of the biggest financial compensation fees in football history” to prise the Argentine away. That’s a sum in the region of $30 million.

Pochettino is committed to an even longer deal now but under different terms.

“Now it’s a four-year contract, it’s different,” Pochettino explained. “We can next season lose the Copa América, or the Gold Cup, and they’re not happy with us, they can sack us. Or we can say, ‘O.K., it’s not the way that we think.’

“Four years is different. Maybe now if someone calls in the future, it’s a different type [of situation]. We are excited, we are thinking to spend four years, to the next World Cup. But now it’s a long period.”

The door is open and Pochettino has shown an inclination to walk through it.

Would Pochettino Want to Leave the USMNT for Man Utd?

Pochettino has made it abundantly clear that he has unfinished business in the Premier League.

“I have the ambition [to return],” the 54-year-old told Sky Sports News as recently as September. “My dream now is to be in the USA for four years, but after that, why not? We are still young, and I think coming back is always my goal; to win the Premier League, to be in the Premier League and to build a project with the possibility of winning.”

“I love the football here,” he added. “I think to have the chance again is one of my wishes and I hope that happens.”

Pochettino took Spurs into the top four in four consecutive seasons and had the 1961 top-flight champions locked in two genuine title races for the first time in decades. An early (and contentious penalty) proved to be the club’s undoing in their European final defeat to Liverpool. “I’ve always said I came so close to winning the Premier League and Champions League, and want to try again,” Pochettino has gushed. “I’d like to be part of a project with the ambition of winning both.” That could be the sticking point.

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United are fretting over relegation rather than Champions League glory. The roster is Frankenstein’s monster of previous managerial regimes all with wildly different ideas to Pochettino. As Carrick has proven, getting this listless iteration of United to press is a fool’s errand.

From a purely sporting perspective, United don’t offer a great deal of appeal. The cultural complications which come with that position would appear even less inviting for Pochettino.

The affable Argentine operates in a happy bubble of U.S. soccer. A celebrated figure during the World Cup who can skirt through most of the country without much unwanted attention, Pochettino has grown to cherish the atmosphere which is unique to international management.

“It’s more pure,” he has outlined. “The players are not toxic, they come because they want to enjoy, they want to enjoy, they don’t have time to become upset or disappointed.”

“Toxic” is the exact word former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag used to recently describe his former employers.

However, there is something mystical about this historic institution.

Ten Hag himself was publicly advised to avoid United by his compatriot Louis van Gaal, who brandished them a “commercial club” rather than a “football club” after being chewed up and spat out himself—a point justified by recent comments from co-owner Avram Glazer. Yet, Ten Hag—like Van Gaal before him—took the plunge regardless. So did José Mourinho and David Moyes, Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Carrick himself.

As the sport’s de-facto cult leaders, elite managers need a delusional self-grandeur to succeed. No player is going to be convinced of your greatness if you don’t believe it yourself. Pochettino clearly has that trait—how else could he be convinced that the USMNT is a genuine World Cup contender? Now it remains to be seen if that same mindset will lead him to United.

This article was originally published on www.si.com as Why Mauricio Pochettino Is Bookmaker’s Favorite for Man Utd Job.