Mauricio Pochettino, a former manager of Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain, has revealed the main deterrent to his hiring as Manchester United manager in the summer.

After coming extremely close to being appointed to oversee the Old Trafford reconstruction project, the Argentine claimed that it was simply a matter of "timing."

But Erik ten Hag, who joined from Ajax in the summer, ended up being the Red Devils' choice.

The 50-year-old is waiting to return to management after being fired by PSG in the summer and is currently without a job.

“Soccer is timing." These are the moments for them to coincide and for that marriage to happen. "Sometimes it’s just a matter of time,” he said, according to Metro.

“I don’t believe in trains passing only once. I think that sometimes you have to have the necessary patience and know how to wait.

“The timing is handled by football; it is true that my name has always been associated with big clubs.”

Pochettino, who played in the central defensive role in 1989 with Primera División club Newell’s Old Boys, has gone on to manage some notable clubs.

He also played for PSG, a club he joined In 2001, and later played for Bordeaux, before returning to Espanyol in 2004.

Pochettino has managed top clubs such as Espanyol, Southampton, Tottenham and most recently Paris Saint-Germain.