On August 19, Pochettino may take over as the head coach of the U.S. national team, with The Athletic (TA) writing an article discussing the relevant details.
The former head coach of the U.S. team, Berhalter, was dismissed on July 10, after which the U.S. national team has been looking for a new head coach. Previously, the U.S. Soccer Federation had reached out to Klopp, but he declined the offer to become the head coach of the U.S. national team, making Pochettino the top candidate for the position of the U.S. national team head coach.
According to The Athletic, Pochettino has agreed to take on the role of head coach of the U.S. national team, but neither Pochettino nor the U.S. Soccer Federation have made any official statements on this matter yet.
Pochettino initially signed a 2+1 contract (a two-year term plus a one-year extension option) with Chelsea, but he left after only one year. For Pochettino, if he takes over the U.S. team, his former club Chelsea will have no right to stop him. The contract Chelsea signed with him stipulated that within six months after his early departure, he could not coach the top six teams in the Premier League, but there would be no restrictions otherwise.
How much salary Pochettino will receive when he takes over the U.S. team has become a topic of concern. His predecessor, Berhalter, had an annual salary of $1.3 million, plus an additional $900,000 in bonuses; Vlatko Andonovski, who coaches the U.S. women’s soccer team, earns nearly $2 million annually.
The salary offered by the U.S. Soccer Federation is destined to be incomparable to that of a Premier League giant. Currently, there seem to be three solutions: one is for MLS teams to donate a sum of money to the U.S. Soccer Federation, which would then be used to pay Pochettino’s salary, but currently, no MLS team is interested in this; the second is to emulate Messi’s move to Inter Miami, compensating for income through commercial sponsorship contracts, which seems to be the most feasible solution.
Another possible solution is that Chelsea covers the difference between the salary the club still needs to pay him during his unemployment period and the salary the U.S. Soccer Federation will pay him. This would also save Chelsea some money and is an acceptable solution.
The U.S. Soccer Federation hopes to reach a coaching agreement with Pochettino within the next 48 hours.