"People that question my commitment are people that want to create some problem." Mauricio Pochettino didn't hold back when pressed about AC Milan rumors at his post-practice press conference — and honestly, it's hard to argue with him.
Reports from The Athletic linked the Argentine to talks with AC Milan representatives over a head coaching role once the World Cup ends. Pochettino didn't deny his representatives might be doing their job — "they need to do their jobs," he said — but flatly rejected any personal meeting with the Serie A club. "No," was his one-word answer when asked directly.
The distraction nobody needs right now
The timing is genuinely unhelpful. The USMNT just beat Senegal, building some momentum with the tournament around the corner, and the story cycling through the press is whether the head coach has one eye already on the exit. The US squad is dealing with enough — injuries, pressure, a home World Cup with a nation expecting a deep run — without this noise added to it.
Pochettino's situation has always had an expiry date baked in. Everyone in US soccer circles knows his tenure ends when the tournament does. At $6 million per year, the highest salary ever paid to a USMNT coach, the federation got a short-term deal for a specific job. That context makes the Milan speculation less scandalous than it sounds — agents talk, clubs explore options, that's the industry.
What actually matters over the next few weeks is whether this squad can hold together physically and perform on the biggest stage the country has ever hosted. Pochettino's next club is irrelevant to that. His focus on the World Cup, though, is not.
"Our commitment is the World Cup, and we are focused on the World Cup." Take it or leave it — that's the line he's going with, and the results will speak louder than any press conference answer.
