(Bloomberg) -- The US men’s national soccer team has a new coach, and a major donor to help pay his salary: Ken Griffin.
Former Chelsea Football Club manager Mauricio Pochettino was hired this week to run the US squad, a move the national soccer federation said was “supported in significant part” by a gift from Griffin, the billionaire founder of the Miami-based Citadel financial empire. ESPN reported that the two year-deal is worth $6 million a year, making Pochettino the highest-paid coach in US soccer history.
A spokesperson for Griffin said the financier believes the appointment will help take soccer to the next level in the US and that players doing well on the pitch will expand the reach of the sport.
“Soccer is one of the most popular sports in America,” Griffin said in a statement. “I am excited to join my fellow Americans in supporting our teams’ efforts to triumph in the upcoming World Cup and beyond. When our players do well on the pitch, it expands the reach of this great sport.”
Griffin has long backed initiatives pushing for growth in US soccer, having donated $8 million since 2017 to fund the construction of 100 mini-pitches — hard-court soccer fields — in Chicago and Miami-Dade County to expand access to the game for young people. He had also joined a previous bid to purchase Chelsea, which Pochettino managed last season, and is on the board of the Miami host committee for the 2026 World Cup, which will be played in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Pochettino, 52, is taking over for Gregg Berhalter, who was fired shortly after the team became the first host nation since 1975 to fail to advance to the knockout stage of the Copa America. The Argentina native previously helmed big-name European clubs Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur, where he coached superstars such as Lionel Messi, Neymar and Harry Kane.
Additional backing for Pochettino’s hire was provided by Scott Goodwin, co-founder and managing partner of Diameter Capital Partners LP, and several other commercial partners, the federation said.
--With assistance from Felipe Marques.
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