“I can’t say it’s totally official,” he said.

Martino experienced great success as Atlanta United’s manager in leading it to a title as well as a berth in next year’s CONCACAF Champions League tournament. The team posted two of the greatest scoring seasons in league history, as well as two of the greatest goal-differences. Under Martino, the team had the 2017 Rookie of the Year Julian Gressel, as well as the 2018 MVP and Golden Boot winner Josef Martinez.

“I really want to thank Arthur (Blank), Darren (Eales), Carlos (Bocanegra) and Paul (McDonough) for having confidence in me and a thank you to everyone at the club who has helped us,” Martino said. “A profound thank you to my coaching staff and a big thank you to my players. The success is a tribute to players from both last year to this season.”

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MORE OF GERARDO MARTINO’S EXCLUSIVE EXIT INTERVIEW WILL BE IN SUNDAY’S EDITION OF THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION.

IN ADDITION TO MARTINO’S INTERVIEW, THERE WILL BE RE-PRINTS OF THE MLS CUP COVERAGE AND POSTERS THAT APPEARED IN LAST WEEK’S NEWSPAPER.