Donovan Shocked by Pochettino’s Lack of Response To Pulisic Controversy

Landon Donovan isn’t happy with USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino’s silence regarding the Christian Pulisic controversy ahead of the 2025 Gold Cup.

On the latest edition of Unfiltered Soccer with Tim Howard and Landon Donovan, the LA Galaxy legend pointed out that Pochettino never spoke with Pulisic about his decision to opt out of the Gold Cup, citing fatigue.

In a press conference following the call-up for friendlies against South Korea and Japan, Pochettino admitted he didn’t have a conversation with his captain.

"We didn’t talk with Christian. I think there’s nothing to talk about. Everything’s behind us—all that happened in the summer—and I think now we need to look forward." - Pochettino said.

That approach left Donovan surprised. He explained that in his playing days, situations like this were handled directly between managers and players.

"These things would happen, and they’d be like, ‘Let’s go get in the room, sit down, we’re going to hash this out right now.’ And he said that after all that happened, they haven’t even spoken. I can’t imagine how awkward it’s going to be when they see each other for the first time." - Donovan said.

Pulisic added fuel to the fire when the first episode of his documentary was released in August.