Pochettino reveals Chelsea were 'broken' as he emerges as frontrunner for Manchester United job

Mauricio Pochettino has delivered a candid verdict on his single season at Chelsea, describing the club as ‘broken’ when he arrived in the summer of 2023, as he emerges as the frontrunner to take charge at Manchester United following Michael Carrick’s struggles at Old Trafford.

Speaking to FourFourTwo, Pochettino painted a stark picture of the environment he inherited under co-owner Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital. “Chelsea were broken when I arrived,” he said. “There were young players making their debuts that season, and there had been many defeats at Stamford Bridge. The momentum was negative. The aim was to stop the slide, start building again, restore belief and give the players the chance to perform.”

Despite inheriting a bloated and unsettled dressing room, Pochettino managed to engineer a late-season turnaround, guiding Chelsea to five consecutive league wins to finish sixth and secure European football. “If we’d had one more month, we would have qualified for the Champions League,” he added.

His departure was confirmed just days after the season ended, but Pochettino is clear that the decision was his own. “I didn’t want to continue. That was my decision. I spoke with Chelsea, but my staff and I were clear about our position. We felt we didn’t belong to the club’s way of doing things. We helped stabilise Chelsea, but had no interest in staying.”

The timing of those reflections is significant. With Carrick’s tenure at Manchester United yielding just one win from ten Premier League matches, the club’s chief executive Omar Berrada and technical director Jason Wilcox have held talks with Sir Jim Ratcliffe in Monaco over the club’s future direction. Pochettino has emerged as the clear frontrunner to be appointed during the November international break.

Prising the Argentine away from his role as head coach of the United States Men’s National Team is expected to cost around $10m, with a release clause understood to be in place. His track record of restoring order to dysfunctional squads — at Southampton, Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain, and Chelsea — makes him an attractive proposition for a United side in freefall.

His Chelsea post-mortem also carries an implicit message to INEOS and the wider United ownership: Pochettino is willing to take on a rebuilding project, but only on his own terms and within a structure that aligns with his sporting philosophy.