Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has said that had his team won the Champions League final, he could have left the club.
Spurs launched one of the most memorable comebacks in Champions League history to beat Ajax and reach their first ever Champions League final last season.
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However, Pochettino’s side lost 2-0 to Liverpool at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid courtesy of goals from Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi.
Speaking ahead of Spurs’ International Champions Cup opener against Juventus in Singapore, the Argentine said that had his team won that game, he could’ve quit the club and gone in search of a new challenge.
As quoted by the Mirror, Pochettino said: “After five years in a difficult project at Tottenham , we talk a lot about perception and reality, how we fight and all the energy we expend trying to get Tottenham fighting with the best teams in Europe and England.
“Maybe if it was a different result after the final you can think, ‘OK, maybe this is a moment to step out of the club, leave the club and give them the possibility of a really new chapter with a new coaching staff’. But after the final I felt this was not great to finish like this. I’m not a person that avoids facing problems or a difficult situation..
“I am more on that side of – I love a massive challenge, a difficult challenge and of course now to rebuild that mentality, to make it possible to repeat a similar season, that is exciting and motivates me a lot.”
The idea of Tottenham reaching the Champions League final in 2020 seems quite far-fetched given the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool, Manchester City, Juventus and Bayern Munich are undoubtedly heavy favourites. However, one can never count out Spurs as they have the kind of players and the mentality to repeat their previous achievement.
Through his comments, Pochettino has somewhat confirmed that he will be staying in north London, something that will certainly delight Tottenham’s fans.
Spurs will hope to begin their defence of the International Champions Cup in style when they take on Juventus in Kallang on Sunday.
