Mauricio Pochettino believes Tottenham Hotspur should be awarded the 2017 Premier League title. Chelsea were recently punished for breaches committed during the Roman Abramovich era, leading the Argentine to argue that his former club is entitled to the trophy.
Pochettino says Tottenham deserve 2017 Premier League title after Chelsea punishment
Mauricio Pochettino believes Tottenham Hotspur should be recognised as the 2017 Premier League champions if Chelsea breaches from the Roman Abramovich era are considered to have affected the fairness of the competition. The former Spurs head coach has argued that his old club competed under different conditions from Chelsea and says the title should go to the team that finished second if the champions are found to have broken the rules.
Tottenham finished behind Chelsea during the 2016/17 Premier League campaign, one of the strongest seasons of the Pochettino era in north London. Nearly a decade later, recent sanctions involving Chelsea have revived discussion around that period, and Pochettino has made clear that he feels Tottenham have a legitimate reason to question the outcome.
“We should have won one Premier League title, we should have been given that trophy,” Pochettino told The Guardian. “If it is true that Chelsea broke the rules, then we deserve to be champions for that year. They have been punished and they admitted it, so that is it. The title should go to the team that finished second.”
The Argentine comments are not simply an attempt to revisit an old sporting disappointment. Pochettino believes the issue goes to the heart of whether Tottenham and Chelsea were competing on equal terms. His argument is that financial or regulatory advantages can influence a clubs ability to recruit players, strengthen its squad and sustain a title challenge over the course of an entire season.
Pochettino questions fairness of 2017 title race
Pochettino was particularly direct when discussing the competitive balance between the two clubs. He suggested that Tottenham were operating within one set of restrictions while Chelsea circumstances allowed them to function differently, creating what he sees as an uneven contest.
“We could not compete under the same rules,” he said. “Maybe, under the same rules, we could have signed certain players who would have made us better.”
That point reflects one of the central frustrations from Pochettino time at Tottenham. His side developed into one of the strongest teams in England without consistently matching the spending power of several direct rivals. Spurs challenged for major honours, qualified regularly for the Champions League and became established near the top of the Premier League, but did not turn that progress into a league title.
The 2016/17 campaign has therefore always carried particular significance. Tottenham emerged as Chelsea closest challengers and produced one of their strongest league seasons under Pochettino, but still finished behind the eventual champions. For the former Spurs coach, the recent punishment imposed on Chelsea inevitably raises questions about whether the competition was as balanced as it appeared at the time.
Pochettino position is straightforward: if a champion is found to have gained an unfair advantage through rule breaches, then the sporting consequences should not necessarily end with a financial sanction or another administrative punishment. In his view, recognition should pass to the next-best team in the standings.
Whether football authorities would ever consider retrospectively reallocating a Premier League title is a separate question, and Pochettino did not suggest that such a process was already under way. His comments instead reflect his personal view of what he believes would be the fairest outcome.
Tottenham years remain important to Pochettino
The fact that Pochettino is still speaking so strongly about Tottenham nearly a decade after the title race illustrates the importance of that period in his career. His spell in north London transformed both his own reputation and the status of Spurs, who became regular contenders near the top of English football.
Under the Argentine, Tottenham developed a young and highly competitive side capable of challenging the traditional powers of the Premier League. Their progress was built around an intense style of football, the development of younger players and a core that remained together through several seasons.
Despite that progress, the absence of a major trophy became one of the defining frustrations of the era. Tottenham went close on several occasions, and Pochettino comments suggest he still feels the 2017 league campaign could have ended very differently if the financial and regulatory environment had been equal for every contender.
His suggestion that Tottenham might have recruited additional players is particularly revealing. Squad depth can be decisive across a 38-match Premier League season, and Pochettino appears to believe Spurs capacity to reinforce was more restricted than that of Chelsea.
That does not mean he has attempted to rewrite every aspect of the season. Chelsea still won the title on the pitch, while Tottenham finished second. His argument is specifically tied to the later finding of rule breaches and the effect he believes those circumstances should have on how the competition is viewed retrospectively.
Current United States coach still thinks about Premier League return
Pochettino comments about Tottenham came as he also discussed his own future. The 54-year-old is currently in charge of the United States national team but does not see international management as necessarily being the final stage of his coaching career.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he admitted that returning to the Premier League remains an ambition. Although his immediate focus is on the United States, he believes he still has plenty of time to return to club football.
“My dream is to spend four years with the United States, but after that, why not?” Pochettino said. “I am still young and coming back is always my goal.”
The comments underline how strongly he remains connected to English football. Pochettino built much of his managerial reputation in the Premier League and spent some of the most important years of his career working in England. The possibility of another job in the competition therefore continues to appeal to him.
His current international role gives him a different challenge, with the rhythm of national-team football very different from the week-to-week demands of the Premier League. However, Pochettino comments make clear that he does not see the move away from club football as permanent.
Tottenham comeback remains possible one day
A return specifically to Tottenham is also something Pochettino refuses to rule out. Asked by The Guardian whether he could imagine working for the club again, his response was open.
“One day, why not?” he said.
That answer will inevitably interest Tottenham supporters because of the bond Pochettino developed with the club during his previous spell. He remains closely associated with one of the strongest Tottenham teams of the modern era, and speculation about a possible return has appeared at different points since his departure.
Pochettino did, however, play down the idea that a reunion had been close this summer. Whatever discussions or speculation may have surrounded his name, he stressed that a return was never seriously advanced.
For now, his commitment remains with the United States, and his stated ambition is to spend four years in the role. What comes afterwards is less certain, but the Premier League clearly remains part of his thinking.
Chelsea punishment revives old debate
The recent developments surrounding Chelsea have given Pochettino an opportunity to revisit one of the most important seasons of his Tottenham tenure from a different perspective. At the time, the title race was decided by results and points. Years later, the regulatory questions surrounding Chelsea have introduced another layer to the discussion.
Pochettino argument centres on the principle that every team competing for the same championship should operate under the same rules. If that principle is not respected, he believes the integrity of the competition becomes open to question.
That is why he has gone beyond simply saying Tottenham were unlucky. He believes the consequences should extend to the final classification itself, with the runner-up recognised if the champion is considered to have competed unfairly.
The former Spurs coach also sees player recruitment as central to the issue. He believes access to different financial resources can alter the balance of a squad and ultimately influence the outcome of a title race.
For Tottenham, the 2016/17 campaign remains a reminder of how close the club came to becoming Premier League champions during Pochettino tenure. His latest comments show that he has not completely closed the book on that season.
Pochettino still emotionally connected to Spurs
There is also an obvious emotional element to the way Pochettino continues to speak about Tottenham. His time at the club was one of the defining periods of his managerial career, and he has repeatedly left open the possibility that their paths could cross again.
His latest remarks combine two themes closely linked to his history in England: unfinished business with Tottenham and a desire eventually to return to the Premier League.
The claim over the 2017 title fits naturally into that story. Pochettino believes the team he built deserved greater recognition for what it achieved and that subsequent events surrounding Chelsea strengthen that case.
Whether the Premier League or any other authority would ever consider changing the historical record is outside Pochettino control, but his own view could hardly be clearer. If Chelsea breached the rules in a way that affected the competitive environment, he believes Tottenham should be regarded as the rightful champions.
At the same time, his comments about the future suggest his relationship with English football may not be finished. He plans to continue his work with the United States, but a return to the Premier League remains one of his longer-term objectives.
And if the opportunity eventually involved Tottenham, Pochettino has made no attempt to close that door. Nearly a decade after one of the closest title challenges in the clubs recent history, the Argentine is still talking about what might have been and leaving open the possibility of returning to north London one day.
