Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that he did not sign a new contract at Paris Saint-Germain amidst links of a return to Tottenham, with the club merely triggering an extension clause for another year on his deal.
The 49-year-old, who departed Spurs two years ago, saw his name crop up for a sensational return to North London in the summer, after the N17 side were on the lookout for a replacement for Jose Mourinho.
Pochettino joined a host of names touted to take the helm including Paulo Fonseca, Erik ten Hag, Genaro Gattuso, and current Spurs manager Antonio Conte, though none came to fruition at the time.
Spurs were left scrambling for options and eventually landed at the door of former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo, but the Portuguese’s appointment was short-lived, lasting just four months.
Following Spurs’ alleged interest, it was claimed that Pochettino extended his current deal at PSG to ward off further speculation of his future, having only joined the club in January this year.
However, the Argentine has since refuted those claims, and suggests the club only activated a clause in his contract which would cause him to stay in Paris for an extra year.
Speaking to The Guardian, Pochettino said: “No, we didn’t extend. The club activated the option and now it is this season plus one.
MORE SPURS STORIES
“Was it to discourage Spurs? Maybe. I don’t know. I didn’t ask the president and I didn’t ask Leonardo [the sporting director]. Maybe it was that.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Spurs’ chase for a manager in the summer was well documented and we were rightly made out to be a laughing stock with how we were scrambling around.
Pochettino looks set for a return to Spurs at some point in the future regardless, but right now it’s time to focus on the Conte era and seeing what he can achieve.
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
