Mauricio Pochettino has made a controversial claim about his time at Tottenham, alleging that the Lilywhites were not operating on a level playing field with one of their rivals.
Pochettino completely transformed Spurs during his five-and-a-half years at the club, making them Champions League regulars and coming close to winning the league title twice.
He took Tottenham to their record points tally of 86 in the 2016-17 season, where they were pipped to the title by Antonio Conte’s Chelsea.
The club would also go on to reach the Champions League final in 2019 but came up short in the end, with the Argentine having no silverware to show for his time in North London.
Mauricio Pochettino makes Tottenham title claim amid Chelsea rules breach
Earlier this summer, Chelsea were charged by the Premier League for historical breaches of competition rules and were fined £10.75 million in March, along with a suspended two-window transfer ban (Sky Sports).
The Blues were hit with 74 breaches of the FA’s rules between 2011 and 2018, with undisclosed payments by third parties associated with the club made to the players.
Pochettino believes that since these breaches mean that the West London club were not operating on an equal footing as his Spurs side, the Lilywhites should be awarded the 2016-17 league title.
The former Tottenham boss said (via Yahoo): “We should win one title, one Premier League. We should have been awarded it. They were punished, they admitted, so that’s it? The title should be for the team that was second.
“It’s true that we didn’t compete with the same rules. OK, now we can say that they scored goals, they won games, and like this. OK, that’s it, but it’s completely fair to say that we didn’t compete before the start of the season with the same card.
“Maybe with the same rules, if we apply the same things, maybe we could’ve signed some players that would have made the team better or scored more goals. It’s not me complaining. It’s the truth. If they admitted they broke the rules, the Premier League title would have been for the second-best team.
“I’m not scared to say the truth. The Chelsea fans will be upset with me because I’m saying this, but if we were at Tottenham and broke the rules, I’d admit the same.”
Why being awarded a title now will not feel the same for Spurs fans
Pochettino’s frustrations are certainly understandable, as there is no doubt that his Tottenham team deserved a Premier League title.
However, to be awarded a title due to the rules being broken nearly a decade ago will not feel particularly sweet, and will always have an asterisk next to it.
Some Tottenham fans may argue that an asterisk does not matter and any title will do, given that Spurs have not won the league since 1961.
However, the enjoyment of a league title for the fans comes during the season and in the joy of celebration after it, neither of which is possible if Tottenham were awarded a league title for the 2016-2017 campaign.
It would feel a lot more special if Spurs won their first league title fair and square and we could see the players lifting the trophy, although the likelihood of that happening within a few years seems slim.