Man Utd to be disappointed as Pochettino waits for Real Madrid

Martin Macdonald

25 Feb 2022 14:13 GMT
4 min read

Mauricio Pochettino, linked with Man Utd — © ProShots

Manchester United's list of managerial candidates for the summer is set to get shorter, with Mauricio Pochettino reportedly out of the running.

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Following the disappointing tenure of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, veteran coach Ralf Rangnick was brought in as temporary boss until the end of the 2021/22 campaign.

At the conclusion of the current season, it is expected that Rangnick will move into an advisory role and that a new head coach will be appointed.

Various names have been linked with the job including Pochettino, Erik ten Hag, Zinedine Zidane and Brendan Rodgers.

However, if Pochettino is the number one choice, then Man Utd are set to be left disappointed.

Spanish outlet Sport reports that the Argentine is not interested in the manager's job at Old Trafford at the moment as it remains his dream to one day take control at Real Madrid.

Pochettino was appointed manager of Paris Saint-Germain in January of 2021, but has failed to win the league in his first half-season.

PSG are runaway leaders in the 2021/22 season, but reports linking Pochettino with an exit are never far away.

Pochettino's record at Espanyol

Pochettino took over relegation threatened Espanyol, a club he enjoyed several years of his playing career with, in January 2009.

He managed to secure a mid-table finish that season, beating local rivals Barcelona in the process.

Eleventh, eighth and 14th placed finishes followed before the Argentine was let go in November 2012 after a poor start to the campaign.

He left the club with 53 wins, at a rate of 32.9%.

Pochettino's record at Southampton

Again taking over mid-season, the now-PSG head coach replaced Nigel Adkins at Southampton.

An eighth place finish in the 2013/14 season won him many plaudits, particularly given his lack of understanding of the English language.

A 38.3% win rate is more than good enough for a previously bottom-half side.

Pochettino's record at Tottenham

Pochettino's spell at Tottenham was the longest, and most impressive, of his managerial career to date.

#mufc are ready to abandon the interim strategy if they can get Mauricio Pochettino now #mulive [@JamieJackson___, @FabrizioRomano]
— utdreport (@utdreport) November 23, 2021

His five-year reign included four consecutive top-four finishes, as well as League Cup and Champions League final appearances.

The criticism, of course, was that he never managed to bring silverware to the north London club.

But, in fairness, Spurs had no business competing for major honours with such little investment.

The 159 wins to 72 losses proves that Pochettino was Tottenham's best manager of the Premier League era.

Pochettino's record at Paris Saint-Germain

The Argentine took over from Thomas Tuchel midway through the 2020/21 season, and failed to turn the club's fortunes around quick enough to win the Ligue 1 title.

However, he has won two trophies, albeit not the major honours, which would have been something of a monkey off his back.

A near 68% win rate is excellent, but PSG have by far the best squad in French football.