Mauricio Pochettino finally breaks silence over Manchester United rumours

With Manchester United flying high in the Premier League right now, it is easy to forget that not too long ago, it looked like they were going to end up in a mid-table battle.

The Red Devils had endured two defeats in their first three league games this season, with their win against Brighton and Hove Albion also coming under controversial circumstances. And back then, there were genuine calls for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to be shown the exit door.

In that case, Mauricio Pochettino was regarded as the favourite to replace him. The Argentine had done a spectacular job at Tottenham Hotspur and was one of the most in-demand free agent managers at that point of time. Things have changed drastically since then though. Solskjaer has United competing for the Premier League title while Pochettino has taken over at Paris Saint-Germain and already won his first ever trophy as a manager.

And he has also decided to break his silence over the links with Manchester United from back when he was a free agent. While speaking with AS and as reported by Sport Witness, he said:

"“The good thing about that situation was that every morning you woke up in a different club. One day they placed you at [Real] Madrid, another at United… At PSG…That’s why I didn’t need to have that media visibility. I had it without wanting it. I was a bit lucky in that regard. They linked my name to different clubs and the exposure came spontaneously.“I was traveling virtually from one club to another. Surely when you talk, it has some basis, but for it to be done for real, as with PSG, ties have to be closed.”"

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Pochettino’s comments suggest that the Manchester United rumours were more fiction than fact

It is safe to say that Manchester United were never really close to getting a deal done for the Argentine manager. But we all know how quickly things can change in modern football.

At one point in this season, Chelsea were at the top of the Premier League table and considered as Champions League contenders as well. Less than two months later, Thomas Tuchel had been appointed as their new manager while Frank Lampard was sacked.

It is safe to say that the same could have easily happened with Solskjaer as well and it is good that United turned their season around in time. Otherwise, Pochettino might very well have been Old Trafford right now.