Pochettino demands Chelsea be stripped of 2017 Premier League title over transfer breaches

Mauricio Pochettino has called for Chelsea to be stripped of the 2016/17 Premier League title, insisting his Tottenham side deserved to be crowned champions after the Blues admitted breaking transfer rules during that period.

Chelsea were fined and handed a suspended transfer ban by both the Premier League and the Football Association after acknowledging violations of transfer regulations between 2011 and 2018 under Roman Abramovich’s ownership. The club admitted making £47m in illegal payments to agents — including on the signing of Eden Hazard — though the Premier League said it had been lenient in its judgement because new owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital self-reported the breaches after taking over in 2022.

Pochettino, who ironically went on to manage Chelsea between 2023 and 2024, is unambiguous about what he believes the punishment should have been. “I’ve said that, that we should win one title, one Premier League,” he said. “We should have been awarded it. If that was true and that happened, for sure, we deserve to be champions for that year, because we were the second best.”

The Argentine, now head coach of the United States national team, argues that the financial irregularities fundamentally distorted the competition. “We didn’t compete with the same rules,” he said. “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.”

Pochettino was careful to separate his criticism of the club’s administration from any slight on Antonio Conte, who guided Chelsea to the title that season. “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 to be twisted. But if you broke the rules, in the moment, then ‘ciao’ — you need to give it to another team.”

He also acknowledged the reaction his comments are likely to provoke. “The Chelsea fans will be upset with me because I’m saying this. But if we were at Tottenham and broke the rules I’d admit the same and say ‘look, we don’t deserve the title because we broke the rules.’”

Pochettino spent five years at Spurs without winning a trophy, a fact that clearly still weighs on him. His comments reignite a debate about whether the Premier League’s decision not to reallocate points or titles — despite the admitted rule-breaking — was the appropriate response.