'I sat across from Mauricio Pochettino and it's changed my view on stripping Chelsea of title'

· Mirror

I sat across from former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino and it's changed my view on stripping Chelsea of the Premier League title and giving it to Spurs

Mauricio Pochettino is such a passionate man.

Frankly, if you sit across the room from him then he could convince you on most things. Pochettino is such a big character. How football needs people like him.

Pochettino was so clear, so compelling and so strong on why Chelsea should be stripped of the 2017 Premier League title - which would mean his old Tottenham team would be upgraded to champions in that season.

So often we get bogged down by suits, lawyers and executives putting their case in football which is all well and good.

But it is nowhere near as powerful as a manager who was directly affected and impacted by the issue. That is what changed my mind on it.

Pochettino sat across the room from a few of us in a smart hotel and spelt it out in clear football terms. He was asked his view on it - and could not have been more clear.

If Chelsea broke the rules, if Chelsea were able to get better players and score more goals - then it really affects what happened on the pitch.

It is not just a financial issue. It’s a football one because Chelsea actually admitted to paying £47m in illegal payments to agents between 2011 and 2018.

One of those players caught up in this was Eden Hazard (an illegal payment was paid around his transfer along with other big names) and he was unquestionably - for a period of time - the best player in the Premier League.

Tottenham finished runners-up in 2017 - a distant seven points behind Antonio Conte’s Chelsea - but Pochettino argued very passionately that Tottenham should be champions.

> “We deserve to be champions for that year, because we were the second best,” argued Pochettino. “We didn't compete with the same rules. 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 was for the second best team.

> “We were fighting with this club (who worked) in a completely different way to us. But I think we deserve more. We (should) get the respect for what we were doing. We operated in a different way.

> “For everyone it needs to be the same rules. And then the capacity to create the best team. I don't say that they didn't play well, that was Conte, the coach was great, and everything. I don't say that. And I don't want this message is twisted.

> “But if you broke the rules, in the moment, then ‘ciao’ - you need to give it to another team. I don't know what didn't happen.”

Just to be clear here, when he was first asked about it and he came back with his answer, he said it with a rueful smile. Someone checked he was being serious. It’s a very serious issue. And he was 100 percent serious. He meant every word.

Chelsea did get a lenient punishment from both the Premier League and the Football Association. The Premier League’s £10.75m fine reflected that new owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital self reported the issue after taking over in 2022. They held their hands up, basically.

That is to be admired. But we come back to whether it gains an unfair advantage on the pitch. And it clearly does.

The long-running argument - which also brings in the 115 charges against Manchester City - is whether clubs should be stripped of titles for things which happen off the pitch. No-one expects City to lose any of their trophies even if they are found guilty.

But when you hear someone like Pochettino make such a strong argument (and he was at the heart of the Chelsea issue in 2016/17) then it is hard to disagree with his view point. It fundamentally affected what happened on the pitch in 2016/17.

The point on this is always it is grossly unfair on the fans. Why should Chelsea fans be punished? It’s the same, in my view, with City. An unpopular view but no-one ever thinks of the fans.

The City case has dragged on and on. It’s embarrassing and damaging to the integrity of the Premier League. I’m quite sure City don’t want it to drag on either. They want their name cleared in the same way other clubs want it resolved.

And Pochettino’s argument shows that this debate goes way beyond lawyers and the courtroom. It goes to the heart of football and Pochettino definitely changed my view on it.

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