The text that started it was short. Scott Goodwin, co-founder of the hedge fund Diameter Capital, was in a group chat with two former professional soccer players, venting about the U.S. men’s national team’s failures at Copa America. When names like Jurgen Klopp came up as possible replacements for the fired Gregg Berhalter, Goodwin wrote: “Let’s get these guys.” Told the top coaches might be unaffordable, he answered: “I’ll pay.”
He meant it, and the result is Mauricio Pochettino, now the highest-paid coach in U.S. Soccer history. The Mirror reported that a philanthropic gift from Citadel founder Ken Griffin made the hire possible.
How the money arrived
U.S. Soccer fired Berhalter in the summer of 2024 after the team went out in the Copa America group stage. Federation executives then drew up a list of the best coaches available. The pay needed to land a world-class name was far beyond what the federation could cover on its own.
One of the former pros in Goodwin’s chat connected him to U.S. Soccer. After a two-hour breakfast at a Manhattan restaurant with federation CEO JT Batson, Goodwin was in and promised to bring others along. He then called Griffin, with whom he had talked about youth soccer and Lionel Messi’s impact at Inter Miami. Griffin, who had earlier given $8 million to the U.S. Soccer Foundation to build mini-pitches in Chicago and Miami-Dade County, said yes.
The federation’s press release described the appointment as “supported in significant part by a philanthropic leadership gift from Kenneth C. Griffin,” with further help from Goodwin and several commercial partners. Federation president Cindy Parlow Cone confirmed the hire would not have happened without that support, “well, unless he was willing to work for much less.”
The pay
According to U.S. Soccer’s latest tax filings, Pochettino earns about $6 million a year in base salary. That is more than triple what Berhalter made and more than triple the pay of women’s national team coach Emma Hayes. Only England’s Thomas Tuchel and Brazil’s Carlo Ancelotti earn more among men’s international coaches. His signing bonus alone was $2.5 million.
His contract runs through the end of the 2026 World Cup. Pochettino has said openly that he wants to return to the Premier League at some point, and he is widely expected to leave the federation after the tournament whatever happens. The United States opened its World Cup against Paraguay in Inglewood on a Friday night.
Sources
Sources
- Mauricio Pochettino's huge USMNT salary funded by hedge fund …
- Inside the money, 'Miracle' influence behind Mauricio …
