U.S. Soccer refutes Laurent Blanc’s claims that he declined job offer

Despite former PSG and France manager Laurent Blanc claiming that he has turned down an offer to fill the open U.S. men’s national team manager vacancy, U.S. Soccer says no formal talks have been held with any candidate.

“I was asked, but for a national team, it’s a no,” Blanc said to Le Parisien . “It’s especially difficult if you’re not from that country. A national team must make the national fibers shake. So, I declined it.”

The USSF responded to the claims on Monday saying that it hasn’t proceeded to any discussions in its search for a manager yet.

Steven Goff of the Washington Post reported in November that U.S. Soccer might not hire a permanent manager until after this summer’s World Cup and likely wouldn’t even begin searching until after February’s USSF Presidential Election.

While it’s no surprise to see “news” outlets running with erroneous rumors about candidates being considered, it’s perplexing as to why Blanc would make up something like this. Perhaps he’s angling for another job and wants to be looked at as desired? That seems to be the only explanation.

You can expect more clickbait fodder for the next several months, but don’t count on hearing any concrete news on the manager front until at least March when there’s a new President in place.