Pochettino reveals rushed timeline cost him the Manchester United job in 2022

Mauricio Pochettino has disclosed that Manchester United’s determination to name a new manager before the end of the 2021-22 season effectively ruled him out of the running, with the Argentine unable to enter negotiations while still contracted to Paris Saint-Germain.

“United were in a hurry to announce their new manager before the end of that season because the situation had become unsustainable,” Pochettino told FourFourTwo. “I couldn’t negotiate, whereas Ajax gave Ten Hag the flexibility to do so.”

Erik ten Hag was ultimately appointed in April 2022, with United keen to have a permanent successor to Ralf Rangnick in place ahead of the following campaign. Pochettino, meanwhile, was still committed to delivering the Ligue 1 title for PSG following their Champions League elimination against Real Madrid.

The 52-year-old confirmed that United’s interest has been genuine and recurring over the years, not merely transfer-window speculation. “United have always shown interest,” he said. “But the ideal scenario to manage there has never quite materialised.”

Pochettino also addressed the widely discussed lunch he shared with Sir Alex Ferguson in 2016, during his time as Tottenham Hotspur manager, clarifying it had no connection to any managerial approach. The meeting, arranged through the League Managers Association, came about after Ferguson praised Southampton — the club Pochettino had managed before joining Spurs — as the most complete opponent United had faced in Ferguson’s final season.

The Argentine recalled the encounter warmly, including a light-hearted dispute over who would settle the bill. Ferguson proposed a tiebreaker: name an Argentine player who scored in the 1930 World Cup final. Pochettino answered correctly — Guillermo Stabile — and paid.

“It was a meeting in London between colleagues — between a genius and an apprentice,” Pochettino said.

Pochettino has been without a club since leaving the United States men’s national team job earlier this year and continues to be linked with the Old Trafford vacancy, with Ruben Amorim’s future at the club the subject of ongoing scrutiny.