It was thought that Mauricio Pochettino’s allegiance to Espanyol is what stopped the former Tottenham manager taking the reins at Barcelona.
However, according to MARCA and cited by The Sun, nothing could be further from the truth.
Though Pochettino has admitted wanting to manage Barca’s arch-rivals, Real Madrid, the reason he turned the Catalans down is because of president, Josep Maria Bartomeu.
There surely can’t be anyone more unpopular in football circles at the moment than Bartomeu, and these latest revelations are sure to bash his credibility once again.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever coach Madrid, but of course it’s my dream,” Pochettino said to MARCA in an interview, cited by The Sun.
“If it’s not the best it’s one of the best clubs in the world. I’m no different, everyone has it on their dream list.
“They didn’t offer me to coach Barca. I didn’t see myself with [president Josep Maria] Bartomeu.
“I did eat with Ramon Planes [Barcelona sporting director] because we have a friendship for many years, since 2009 when he signed for Espanyol.”
It’s been almost a year since the north Londoners sacked the Argentinian, and for someone who had been doing so well on a relative shoestring budget, that’s far too long to be out of the game.
Whilst he admitted receiving a couple of calls in that time, they were not from some of the clubs that had been rumoured to be willing to acquire his services.
“Neither PSG, nor Juventus, nor Inter Milan,” he added to MARCA, cited by The Sun.
“I did have a call from Benfica and Monaco. I have no need to lie.”
With Zinedine Zidane still at the helm at the Santiago Bernabeu, perhaps Pochettino will have to take another job in the meantime, in the hope that it’s a stepping stone to the position he really wants.