The USA national team would like to appoint Pep Guardiola as their new manager to succeed Manchester United-bound Mauricio Pochettino, according to a report.

The Red Devils officially confirmed the sacking of head coach Michael Carrick on Thursday and it is understood that an agreement in principle has been reached for Pochettino to take the reins at Old Trafford.

Man United are said to have made contact with the USA and are willing to pay the £7.4m release clause in Pochettino’s contract, though the Red Devils would be comfortable with him taking charge of international matches against Haiti on Saturday and Wednesday.

USA would have ideally liked to have retained the services of Pochettino, who was appointed head coach in September 2024 and oversaw the country’s 2026 World Cup campaign before signing a contract extension in August to keep him in charge until the summer of 2030.

Would Guardiola be interested in becoming next USA manager?

However, The Athletic reports that former Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City boss Guardiola is expected to become a ‘top target’ for the USA national team in the event that Pochettino moves to Man United.

Their pursuit of Guardiola would not be straightforward, though, as the Catalan has shown little interest in an imminent return to management since ending his legendary 10-year career at the Etihad Stadium in the summer.

Guardiola turned down the opportunity to become Italy head coach earlier this year, with the president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), Giovanni Malago, telling La Repubblica: “Pep was honest. He took a sabbatical, partly for family reasons, but if he’d done anything, he would have done it with us.”

Nevertheless, Guardiola is said to have previously had dialogue with USA, and has long been intrigued by the possibility of working in America.

Guardiola was allegedly contacted by USA, along with Jurgen Klopp, before they ended up hiring Pochettino to replace Gregg Berhalter in 2024. 

Guardiola’s ‘fascinated’ by USA project and “potential” of national team

Speaking about USA after Pochettino was appointed, Guardiola told reporters: "The USA is fascinating to try to build a project for many years and be able to get the national team to the next step.

“The potential with the USA is there, given the number of people and sports, and so on.

"I wish [Pochettino] and the USA - I have friends there - the best of luck. I know he's a top-class manager, an experienced manager."

Following his 2012 departure from Barcelona, Guardiola spent a year-long sabbatical in New York City, living with his family in a luxury apartment near Central Park where he enjoyed a rare sense of anonymity.

After a decade in charge of Man City – where he won 20 trophies including six Premier League titles – Guardiola has since become a Global Ambassador for the club and stated how he plans to take an extended break from management.

"After my contract with City, I'm going to stop. I'm sure," he said in May 2025. "I don't know if I'm going to retire, but I'm going to take a break. How I want to be remembered, I don't know."

In a separate interview, he added: "So I'm not retiring, but I will take a break, for sure. When I finish here, I will take a break. I need to make a stop, that's all.”

As well as the USA, Guardiola has been tipped to manage England at some stage in the future, though Thomas Tuchel is currently in charge of the Three Lions and is expected to stay at least until the end of the 2028 European Championship.