Guardiola rejects US Soccer approach as Pochettino departs for Manchester United

Pep Guardiola has no intention of replacing Mauricio Pochettino as United States men’s national team manager, with the 55-year-old determined to see out a year-long sabbatical following his departure from Manchester City at the end of the 2025-26 season.

Pochettino was confirmed as Manchester United’s new manager this week, ending his tenure with the USMNT despite having signed a contract extension through 2030 only recently. The Argentine will formally leave the role after the second game of a double-header against Haiti, following Saturday’s 6-0 victory in the first fixture.

US Soccer has identified Guardiola as an ambitious target to fill the vacancy, but according to The Telegraph, the former City boss will resist any approach. His sabbatical means a return to management is not anticipated until some point in 2027 at the earliest.

Guardiola’s reluctance is not new. Italy made a failed attempt to appoint him earlier this year, with Italian football federation president Giovanni Malago confirming the outcome to 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.”

The England Football Association also sounded Guardiola out for the national team job while he was still at City, before Thomas Tuchel was appointed in 2024. Those approaches, like Italy’s, came to nothing.

Guardiola has been open about his desire to manage at a major international tournament, stating as far back as 2024 that leading a national side at a major competition was something he wanted to experience. He also has a personal connection to the United States, having spent a previous sabbatical in New York after leaving Barcelona, and is reported to have had prior contact with US Soccer.

Nonetheless, the pattern of rejections — England, Italy, and now potentially the US — underlines how firmly Guardiola is committed to his break. US Soccer faces a significant challenge in finding a manager of comparable profile ahead of hosting the 2026 World Cup on home soil.