Mauricio Pochettino refused to be drawn to comment on Erik ten Hag's appointment at Manchester United, a job he was in the running for.
United have been big admirers of Paris Saint-Germain boss Pochettino for a number of years but passed on the opportunity to hire him in 2019 when they instead made Ole Gunnar Solskjaer their permanent manager. The Norwegian was sacked in November and Pochettino once again was a leading contender for the job but the club has gone in another direction with Ajax coach Ten Hag.
Despite being on the verge of wrapping up the Ligue 1 title this weekend, Pochettino has come in for heavy criticism in Paris especially after PSG threw away a strong advantage as they were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid. The Argentine's future has been in doubt and he has faced accusations of being distracted by the vacant United job.
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Though Pochettino remained tight-lipped about United's hiring of Ten Hag, he made it clear that 'rumours' have never impacted his work.
"All the rumours throughout my football career have never really affected me," he said. "I don't comment on rumours either.
"When I have been in charge of Southampton, Tottenham and now PSG, I have always been fully committed. Rumours are rumours, we don't need to pay attention to them now. We know they exist and they are generated on a daily basis. As always, we are focussed on our job at the club."
The appointment of Ten Hag was announced this past week as the Dutchman put pen to paper on a three-year deal, with the option for a further 12 months, and he will begin life at Old Trafford following the conclusion of the season. The 52-year-old was chosen over Pochettino as United decided that he is the manager that most closely aligns with their identity and strategy.
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