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New Paris St Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino almost became Manchester United manager some time ago, according to a new report from Athletic.
The Argentine was out of work for just over a year before being signed by PSG following the dismissal of Thomas Tuchel. It was widely believed that he coveted the United job and there has long been a sense of “lurking in the shadows” whenever current starter Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has hit a rough patch.
And The Athletic states that ‘such was the interest at one point that a meeting between a senior United official and Pochettino is said to have taken place at a junction on the M25 motorway. A kind of tentative survey.
The outlet further suggests that Sir Alex Ferguson made fun of Poch while he was still at Spurs and that the great Scotsman enjoyed dining with Pochettino in 2016, at Scott’s Restaurant in Mayfair, just a few minutes’ walk from United’s London offices.
“It was a public show of mutual appreciation that cast a future search, even if United knew it would cost considerably more than the £ 114 bottle of Brunello di Montalcino red wine the couple is believed to have shared.”
Taking him out of Daniel Levy’s clutches at Spurs would have cost United around £ 42 million in compensation, a figure the club was unwilling to pay.
In fact, reporter Laurie Whitwell claims United Executive Vice President Ed Woodward has long since abandoned any interest in signing the former Spurs man.
“It was after just two games that Woodward, on a visit to Solskjaer’s office, asked how things were going and was impressed to be shown a flip chart of what the United team would look like in three years.”
(It’s hard to avoid inserting a sarcastic comment here.)
While many fans are still undecided as to whether Solskjaer is the man who will lead United back to the glory days they enjoyed with Sir Alex, his current position level in points with Liverpool at the top of the Premier League is certainly one. sign of great progress.
And whether or not that progress continues, Solskjaer can at least breathe easy knowing that Pochettino is no longer in the picture and that any delay on the M25 is due to high volume of traffic rather than secret meetings with rival managers.
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