Pochettino to finish Haiti ties before leaving US for Manchester United

Mauricio Pochettino will oversee the United States' two Concacaf Nations League quarter-final matches against Haiti before leaving to take charge of Manchester United. Speaking at US Soccer's national training center on Friday, the coach addressed his departure after its announcement earlier in the day, according to reporting by the Guardian's Pablo Iglesias Maurer from Fayetteville, Georgia.

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Pochettino said contact over the United job began on Sunday afternoon, shortly after he had arrived for the national team's training camp. He described the discussions as moving quickly and said he kept US Soccer chief executive JT Batson and the federation informed. Once the agreement had progressed on Thursday, he told the players and staff about the decision and thanked them for their support.

The club and federation agreed that Pochettino should complete the current international assignment. He is due to lead the US against Haiti on Saturday and Tuesday, and stressed that the move would not lessen his commitment to those matches. That arrangement leaves him with two competitive fixtures still to manage even as preparations begin for his return to club football with United.

The departure comes only months after Pochettino renewed his US contract in August through 2030. That extension had included a broader role in shaping the men's program across its different levels. Explaining the change, he described the United position as an opportunity that rarely becomes available in a coaching career. He also said he had not anticipated such a rapid change when agreeing to continue with the federation.

Batson and US Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone joined Pochettino at the news conference. The Guardian reported that United paid approximately $10m for his services. Asked about the money, Batson said it would be available to support the federation's objectives, including coaching appointments, youth national teams and coaching education. He did not present the payment as funding reserved solely for the next senior men's coach.

The report also noted uncertainty over funding for Pochettino's successor. Donor Ken Griffin had subsidized a significant portion of Pochettino's salary, but whether that support would continue for a replacement was unclear. Pochettino, who led the US to the last 16 at this summer's World Cup, said his focus in assessing his time with the federation was on the people he had worked with and the expertise he had contributed.