Once upon a time Mauricio Pochettino and Manchester United looked like a match made in heaven.
The Argentine stood in the Old Trafford dugout, dressed head to toe in black, as he masterminded a 3-0 Tottenham win in what would be the beginning of the end for Jose Mourinho. Four months after that victory in August 2018 and the Special One was gone.
Pochettino began fielding questions about whether he would be interested in swapping north London for Manchester. On paper it seemed a step-up and, with his stock on the rise, it seemed like a logical next move as he sought to win silverware for the first time.
Yet here we are, just over three years later and the 50-year-old has been overlooked by the Old Trafford hierarchy once more. After Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's sacking, it looked to be a choice between two as the Argentine and Erik ten Hag were installed as the early favourites.
Both had clear similarities but United have opted for the Dutchman, leaving Pochettino to ponder his next move with a PSG divorce seemingly inevitable. During his Tottenham days, the tactician was spotted having lunch with Sir Alex Ferguson as he picked the brains of one of the greatest brains in history.
It is barely fathomable that the Scot didn't joke about him one day taking up the role on the red side of Manchester, but since his Tottenham exit in late 2019 Pochettino's career has stagnated and, in the eyes of some, even gone backwards. He has seemingly failed to seize the moment, having been a shoo-in for the job in 2018.
Early questions shut down
When Mourinho was axed, Pochettino had Tottenham sat in third having won 13 of their 17 Premier League games. The bookies installed him as the early favourite and Daniel Levy was no doubt dreading a phone call from Ed Woodward, then United's executive vice-chairman.
Pochettino was the obvious and apparently only candidate with United filling the void on an interim basis. Tottenham became increasingly frustrated by the speculation with the club's press officer stepping in at one press conference, stating: "I'm not prepared to have another press conference dominated by this (Man United talk)." He also added "You're asking our manager about another job" before suggesting the reporter "move it on".
Pochettino had responded to speculation at the time by saying: "After nearly five years there's a lot of rumours that happen in my position here as a manager at Tottenham and I cannot answer this type of question because this type of rumours happens in this business, in football."
Ole's Wembley win
It was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who left Molde for a short period to take over at Old Trafford. His remit was to steer a sinking ship until the end of the season by which point the club would review their options - most likely Pochettino. Solskjaer started impressively, guiding United to a 5-1 win at Cardiff City.
The fixture list had fallen kindly for the Norwegian, but a game at Wembley against Tottenham was one that had one clear subplot to it. The current boss vs the boss they appeared to want. Marcus Rashford's goal settled a contest in which Tottenham dominated, but couldn't find a way past David de Gea.
The tide had begun to turn and, just over two months later, Solskjaer was named United's new permanent boss - ending any talk of a move for Pochettino. The Argentine saw Tottenham crawl to the end of the season, just about securing fourth as a run to the Champions League final masked issues elsewhere.
A European hangover lasted into the following season. Investment was made, albeit with little success, as Pochettino continued to field questions about his own role and the power - or lack of it - handed to him when it came to transfers and player contracts. Whatever issues he had clearly manifested themselves on the pitch and, with Tottenham sat in 14th, the Argentine was axed in November.
A Paris problem
That meant he was back on the market. Solskjaer and United were enduring periods of poor form and results which led to inevitable speculation about Pochettino coming in to take over. The Red Devils stuck by their man however leaving the 50-year-old to bide his time.
Pochettino had spent three years as a player in Paris and was quizzed on the job at the Parc des Princes in the past. In January 2021, after 14 months out of the game, PSG came knocking and hired their former defender on an 18-month deal. It seemed a job befitting his stature at Tottenham and provided him with the resources to do what he couldn't in north London - prove he could cut it at the top without having to overachieve.
He took over when PSG were, surprisingly, not already a shoo-in for another Ligue 1 title. He couldn't overhaul Lille in the title race and lost out to Manchester City in the last four of the Champions League. He was given something of a free pass since he hadn't enjoyed a pre-season or the chance of any recruitment.
However, this season, when he had no excuses, a perfect opportunity has turned into a nightmare. He looks set to be the latest manager to be spat out by the Parisians with his dismissal a case of when not if. A Champions League collapse at Real Madrid was always going to prove defining and, despite delivering the Ligue 1 title, he is set to leave France with a win percentage of just 67 - a number dwarfed by Thomas Tuchel, Unai Emery and Laurent Blanc.
Unanswered questions
Back in 2017, Pochettino was quizzed on Tottehanham's semi-final shortcomings after an FA Cup loss to Chelsea. He was keen to point out that such a trend was attached to the club - not him. It is a comment that hasn't aged well. The Argentine lost two finals, two semi-finals and fell short in two title races whilst in north London.
In Paris, Pochettino was unable to negotiate knockout ties in Europe and it means, more than five years after Pochettino looked set to become a top tier manager, he's left us asking more and more questions with answers few and far between.
Perhaps it is that inability, at least so far, to take that next step that proved to be a red flag for those at Old Trafford. At one point his possible dismissal from PSG seemed to play into United's hands - they no longer had to pay a massive compensation fee. But rather than play a waiting game they opted for Ten Hag and negotiated his exit with Ajax.
Had United hired Pochettino and missed out in cup competitions next season the questions would've been asked - you knew he had a history of this. The Manchester avenue was once a path that Pochettino seemed destined to follow at some point in his career. Now, after a second successive snub, the ship looks like it may well have sailed.
