‘It Reflects’—USMNT Star Has Unique Take on Mauricio Pochettino’s Man Utd Links

U.S. men’s national team center back Chris Richards had an optimistic, slightly self-congratulatory stance on Mauricio Pochettino’s seemingly imminent arrival at Manchester United.

The Crystal Palace defender argued that any interest from a Premier League “powerhouse,” to use his charitable description of United, reflects well on the strength of the national team.

Pochettino was already considered a major coup for the USMNT when he was hired in September 2024 a matter of months after leaving Chelsea. The former Champions League finalist and Premier League runner-up with Tottenham Hotspur also won the French top flight at Paris Saint-Germain, managing the likes of Kylian Mbappé, Neymar Jr. and Lionel Messi. That he was willing to shift his focus to Richards and his compatriots was a surprise for many.

During his two years at the helm, Pochettino slowly rebuilt the playing style and ethos of the program, inspiring fans to feverishly support the side on home soil during last summer’s World Cup. Tangible results were hard to come by—the U.S. is still awaiting its first trophy since the 2024 Concacaf Nations League—but there have been enough positives for Richards to claim that Pochettino’s work with the USMNT played its role in United’s interest.

“It reflects a lot about what we’ve done as a collective over the last few years that we have a coach who’s being looked at by one of the powerhouses of the world,” Richards told The Athletic on Wednesday, while Pochettino’s future remained mired in a thick fog of uncertainty.

“Obviously, kudos to him, because he does the hard work every week. But it also helps he’s helped establish this within our country and within our national team.”

Adams was similarly unflustered by reports of Manchester United’s interest in Pochettino. “Why would his name not be on it?” the USMNT captain shrugged when in discussion with Yahoo Sports.

“I mean, the credibility, the résumé speaks for itself. It goes to show for us how lucky we are to be able to work under a manager of his quality and the person he is.”

“When you do a good job as a player or coach, you’re linked to something,” Adams explained. “There’s rumors every single day with players going to different places or different clubs. It’s no different with a manager.”

On Wednesday, Pochettino led practice, projecting to the outside that nothing is different until it is.

Richards claimed that Manchester United has remained the elephant in the room ignored by everyone at the USMNT’s November training camp. There is the imminent prospect of a two-legged Nations League quarterfinal tie with Haiti to come on Saturday and Tuesday which removes the prime focus—according to Richards, at least.

“It’s kind of been business as usual here,” Richards insisted, with some justification given Pochettino’s ongoing presence. “Same old, same old. But obviously everyone’s on social media nowadays, everybody sees all the reports and stuff.

“We’ve just kept our heads down. We’re training and playing like we don’t hear anything. It’s one of those things, you have to live it to experience it. [Young players are] reading and hearing the same stuff.

“We’re trying to lead by example. We’re training like he’s going to be the coach tomorrow, because we don’t know what’s going to happen or what’s not going to happen. That’s just kind of the mentality that we’ve had.”